Detatoko shobu
by sideshowtom
Summary: Gamble as the Dice Fall Story involving Shino joining Akatsuki and the time, nearly 8 years later when everything comes to a head over the newly discovered 7 tails: location? The Hidden Village of Stone. Enjoy and please R&R! Chapter 9 and OC sheet up!
1. Fire and Sushi don't mix

Winter in Konohagakure was a particularly beautiful time of the year for the Hidden Village. The snow tended to fall silently across the picturesque rooftops and blanket the awnings of the various restaurants and shops beautifully. This beautiful image was somewhat ruined for Aburame Shino as he stared at the tongues of fire that licked the edges of the Yakitori Sushi shop.

Flames from a fire that he himself had started. Tucking his hands into the pockets of his Akatsuki cloak and feeling the wind slip between the edges of his hooded sweatshirt and his high collared button-up, he glanced once more at the fire and proceeded to leap up onto one of the adjacent rooftops alongside his partner.

"Admiring your old hometown?" she whispered, her luscious brown hair glowing in the glowing fire light. Her cloak rippled around her as they shot off into the darkness and her eyes gleamed even as her features were lost in the swirling snow and the darkness.

"No. Just considering some things. Things lost to the past." He muttered as he lost himself inwardly.

---

"_Shino-kun!" yelled Hinata as she jogged towards him. He placed the groceries he was carrying on the ground and felt his cheeks warm behind his jacket as she engulfed him in a hug "I have wonderful news!"_

"_What is it Hinata?" he queried, interest piqued._

"_Naruto-kun finally asked me out!" her excitement was easily visible in her usually timid voice as she brought her hand up to show him a beautiful ring gleaming there. It was the azure blue of her lover's eyes._

"_That is wonderful Hinata." Shino's stoic demeanor remained the same even as his heart raced like a horse. He had been too late…_

"_What is the matter Shino-kun? Are you feeling ill?" She could always read him, just like a book._

"_No Hinata-chan, of course not. Would you like to go get some sushi at Yakitori's?"_

"_Well I should probably go and find…but anything for you, Shino. I'll pay OK?"_

_He merely nodded as he adjusted his sunglasses and strolled beside her. The groceries lay behind him and as the wind picked up, the lighter of the two fell to the ground, its contents spilling out of the brown sack. One of the eggs contained in the dozen he had purchased broke upon a rock and its' contents spilled out onto the earth._

_When one of his kikai-bugs reported this to him later, Shino couldn't help but feel some sympathy for the broken egg. After all, his heart felt the same way._

---

"Hey Shino wake up. Earth to bug-boy…"

Shino started and glanced around. Apparently Rokka had landed just on the outskirts of the village just inside the forest.

"Why have we stopped? The Leader will want the things we picked up"

"We're not going anywhere. You're far too emotionally drained right now to keep traveling. Why I let you drag me off on your dumb-ass missions…"

Shino had stopped listening. Had it been that obvious? He kept his lips closed however; as much as he hated to admit it, this break would be good for him. It would provide him a chance to mull things over. As he looked up at the sky, the tiny flakes of snow striking soundlessly against his hood and sunglasses, he thought it the best. He would concentrate on preparing himself for now, for it would soon be time for him to continue his mission.

Then perhaps Rokka would understand why he made constant layovers in Konoha, simply to visit old places and try to remember a past nearly forgotten.

---

Tsunade was feeling old. Well old-ER that is. The Godaime Hokage was nearing 60 and still working at her job as hard as Sarutobi-sensei had. But the questions of the council still loomed over her-who would be her successor? She had quite a few in mind but only one she considered the best candidate-and she knew the council would take some convincing on the part of that one.

"Hokage-sama?" queried Sakura as she entered the main office. She knew, even if she was a prized student that Tsunade hated to be disturbed while working.

"Yes Sakura what is it? Have we found any culprit for the arson case?"

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama we haven't. Shikamaru currently has two ANBU squads searching the surrounding woods but he has little hope of finding anything. The winter cold conveniently makes for a lack of witnesses as well." Sakura shifted uncomfortably as she spoke, her sadness over failing visible in her face.

"Do not worry yourself too much Sakura-I believe the only thing that is hurt is Yakitori-sama's pride."

As Sakura stood there, staring at the ground, she whispered out a quick "Hai" and exited, presumably to return home to head home. Tsunade rubbed her head, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on. Even as she reached for her bottle of sake, however, her door flew inward and a blur of green burst in with a scream of "Hokage-sama! The beautiful green beast returns!"

With a groan Tsunade rubbed her temple as she spoke, "Yes Lee? What can I help you with?"

"I just wished to report that Neji-kun and I recently returned from our scouting mission-we confirmed that the Tsuchikage most likely has one of the biju sealed within a statue located somewhere in his chambers. Neji reported that it was most likely the seven-tails, or Nekotama the Bat, judging from the nature of the statue. However he admits that this may be less than accurate as the security around Iwagakure prevented us from getting very close and they had some powerful chakra seals surrounding the statue."

"Well that's a great help. Even with the peace treaty, the Tsuchikage hasn't liked me much after I forgot to pay him back for that gambling debt. Anything else to report Lee?"

"No Hokage-sama!"

Tsunade inwardly groaned even as she asked, "And do you...uh have your written mission reports?"

"OS!" screamed Lee as he pulled the huge stack of papers out. Just like his sensei, the 'irrepressible' Rock Lee's mission statements tended to give Tsunade an irrepressible headache. Why would she ever need to know about every single plant and animal they passed on the way here? Or the exact coordinates for every one of their camps sites?

Pushing the tome to the brink of her desk she brought back Lee's attention and began with some of her own questions "Lee did Neji say if he sensed any strange chakra signatures around the Earth country? Anything worth reporting?"

"I assume you mean anything related to Akatsuki Hokage-sama and no, he did not. For the past few months it appears that they have not been moving around too much except to complete missions from different sources. It would appear that they are trying to become a legitimate hidden village, perhaps?"

"That's what I'm the most worried about Lee. That's all I need-make sure to have Neji find some time to come and talk to me about the mission as well"

"OS!" and he was off, leaving Tsunade reaching for the sake and groping for some aspirin. Screw warning labels.

As she sipped her alcohol and slipped two of the orange tablets into her mouth she considered what Lee had told her. If Iwagakure did have one of the tailed beasts sealed somewhere in their village than it was no doubt that Akatsuki would begin seeking them out, if their mission still involved the sealing of the tailed beasts. She would have to get some more information about the organization if she was going to ever find out what to do with the whole situation. And she would be sure to send a few delegates to the Earth country to try and hammer out some sort of agreement, preferably carrying a large case of money. She knew how much the greedy Tsuchikage loved to see the green before he agreed to anything.

Hopefully the Akatsuki didn't know that as well. As she took her first sip of the burning sake she sincerely hoped that, for the sake of Konoha might depend on it.

As the she heard her Chuunin assistant step out side of the main hallways door, Tsunade made sure to lock her door before starting in anew on her sake. If anyone else needed her, it would have to wait until tomorrow morning.

---

Tenten waited with bated breath. She had ended team practice nearly 2 hours ago and had time to eat a leisurely dinner at the new curry restaurant with Gai-sensei before returning home. And yet her husband was still not back from his mission to the Earth Country. Had something happened? Had the two taijutsu masters finally failed as a partnership? As these thoughts ran through her head she heard the door creak open slowly. That was him then, better late than never. She pulled the covers up around her sleeping outfit-even though he could see her in perfect clarity that didn't mean she didn't want to make some things a surprise.

Neji stepped into his house placing his ANBU bird-mask in its' usual place before walking in. His limbs hurt, his chakra was nearly gone, and his head ached from the near-constant travel. All he wanted to do now was curl up on his side of the bed and say goodnight to the world. He nearly fell even as he walked feeling the sharp pain in his left leg.

_Damn that Iwagakure ninja got me worse than I thought. Damn earth jutsu…_

With thoughts that he would be sure to head over to see Sakura or one of the other medic-nin in the morning he slipped into bed, pulling the covers up around his neck before turning his body over and feeling sleep creep over him.

"Neji-kun? I have something to tell you."

That was all Neji needed-he was out of bed, byakugan reactivated and nearly out the door before Tenten called him back with a cry of "Wait! It's something wonderful"

He sighed. He still worried, even he could admit it and even with near 360 degree vision he couldn't see everything. But as he turned, he saw something he wasn't used to. His wife had stood up while he'd been worrying and he could see the small, but powerful concentration of chakra in her lower stomach.

He fell to his knees and praised the kami that nothing worse had happened. "Can we discuss it in the morning?"

She nodded and he fell back into bed. But even as the he resumed his journey to dreaming he couldn't help but wonder: Would the child have byakugan or not? Black hair or brown? Boy or girl?

---

The Leader appeared before Shino and Rokka sometime later and they bowed to the ground before rising as one. The shimmering figure merely nodded before beginning, "Did you pick up the scroll I asked you for?"

They both whispered their consent that, yes, they had. He nodded again and glanced at both of them "And did you encounter any difficulty from the Konoha shinobi?"

"No" they whispered again, even though the threat of discovery was near nonexistent. They had moved deeper into the forest and were currently about 2 kilometers from any inhabited areas.

"Excellent. Both of you are to continue onwards towards the Earth Country. I need to to be involved in a mission there: one of the other elite teams has already been dispatched as they were in the area. Speed and silence are of the utmost importance. Leave at dawn."

They both nodded again as they figure fazed out of existence and they were left alone once again.

Rokka was the first to speak, as she usually was. Even so many years out of his native village Shino still held onto his stoic and silent demeanor. "What do you think the new mission is?"

Unneeded discussion was not something Shino enjoyed but Rokka was one of the more talkative shinobi and he would have to live with that fact for at least a little while longer. "I believe it will have something to do with a mission to your native home. My kikai have informed me that the Hokage is planning to send a delegation there to investigate rumors of a biju there."

"You still have insects planted in your kage's office?" she cried incredulous "Why? And moreover how?"

"The intelligent bug never leaves a nest uninhabited when he moves onto the next one. He merely lets it seem to be so."

She muttered something under her breath and he rose telling her, "I'm going to walk for a little while."

She nodded and began to make preparations for the night. They would usually stay in some sort of inn in one of the border towns but it would be too much of hassle, especially since they hadn't received the pay from their last mission yet.

Even as Shino walked away he could hear the cracking, rumbling noises of rocks being drawn out of the pliant forest floor. He took only a few steps and then placed his hands together, forming a few quick seals. Before he could finish however, he heard the _whoosh_ of a weapon cutting through the air and had just enough time to dodge the large trench knife that came hurtling out of the trees, aimed right for his outstretched hands.

"Ah Shikamaru are you still using your sensei's weapons? I'm impressed."


	2. My kingdom for a drink

Shikamaru and Shino glared at each other from across the clearing, the former after plucking his trench knife out of the ground with his shadow, the latter even while his kikai bugs buzzed around his lowered arms.

"I suppose I should blame you and your partner for starting that fire at Yakitori's, Shino?"

Shino wasn't surprised that Shikamaru assumed he was with a partner of some form or another--the Akatsuki cloak was a pretty big tip and would let anyone with cursory knowledge of the organization that two or more of the S-class shinobi were involved. What Shino wasn't sure of was whether or not Shikamaru knew about his mission. And that was the most important part of this encounter. It would determine whether or not there would have to be a fight.

"Shino why did you turn to evil like this? Was it just because of Naruto and Hinata? That couldn't be it."

_There we go._ Either the Nara was trying to draw him out or he was pretending he didn't know in order to throw off any surveillance that might be around them. Either way, it was time for some theatrics.

"Good and evil are such cut and dry terms Shikamaru. For someone who is a proven genius I would expect more from you. Rather than show me as evil for the things I have done, I ask that Konoha look inside of itself for an image of evil. What have they done to help the children that dwell within their midst? The ones with no families, those that have had their families slaughtered, and those that have demons inside of them?"

Shikamaru interrupted, muttering under his breath "We all have our demons Shino."

Shino ignored him and continued "Oh no, Konoha I ask you not to see me as evil. I ask you to look into a mirror and experience true evil. Rather than help these children at all you merely let them continue to live, prizing them as genius or shunning them as pranksters. And for what? The betterment of your society? To be sure that you didn't have to worry about them until they killed more friends than enemies on some half-cocked mission? And even those who seem to have it all were shunned-called names and ignored. What of us? What were we meant to do? When we were meant to find pride for what we were, what we did? Was that not evil? No, Konoha, do not call me evil. Look at yourselves and then you shall see true evil my friend."

Shikamaru sighed and Shino, judging from past experience could see a bout of 'troublesome' remarks coming his way. But the Nara genius' tirade was cut off by a cry of "Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

And there was Rokka right on cue, as always. He flipped into the air even as the Nara genius was swept under the surface of the red-brown, swirling stagnant swamp, 'troublesome' still on his lips.

"Just because you can handle some Akatsuki doesn't mean that you can handle all of us, idiot." Rokka sneered as she landed on the tree branch next to Shino, who glanced at her before nodding. The two disappeared in a flutter of leaves and smoke.

---

Kurohari trudged irritably through the rain, the trail of smoke from his cigarette mixing in with the ever-present mist. Yukai sat perched on his shoulders, her wide brimmed hat protecting her bright green hair from the deluge of water. The pair was decidedly odd, made even more so by the Akatsuki cloaks that protected their bodies from the rain.

"Yukai-chan…remind me again why we're in this downer of a country." Kurohai rubbed his eyes with one of his hands as he walked, the feeling of the sloshing mud underneath his feet doing nothing to improve his mood.

"Kuro-kun I told you! We're here because we're attempting to set up a network with which to infiltrate Iwagakure."

"That's a downer, 'cause last time I checked we were in the middle of Kirigakure's territory." The smoker spat his cigarette to the ground and plucked another from his pocket, lighting it and taking a deep first drag.

"I understand that. But Leader-sama needs us to make sure that none of Iwa's allies come to their rescue silly-head."

Kurohari's shoulders slump a little bit more as he walked through the mud. Lightning forked across the sky as the roll of thunder resounded across the heavens. His eight year old partner seemed to revel in the noise and flashes of light as only a child could.

"Downer man." He muttered to himself as the rain began to fall harder and Yukai only giggled and kicked her heels into his shoulders.

"Giddy-up horsey!"

Kurohari groaned and prepared to light yet another cigarette. He could just make out the entrance to Kirigakure and he could only hope they had a good bar there.

---

Yori hated guard duty more than anything. Hailing from Kiriagakure he had become more than used to the rain in his 24 years of existence. And the pay was fine, enough for him to have a nice apartment and pay all his bills. No the worst part of it was the bureaucracy of it all. Didn't have a pass? Well then he had to go into the village, find someone to cover for him on guard duty and then find someone who could provide the people with the right credentials. And the cameras made it so that no bribes could be accepted, implemented by the most recent Mizukage in an attempt to crack down on corruption. As if it did anything.

But on that particular day, Yori's life was made easy. Because as the figure came trudging up the road materialized into two, a man and a child on his shoulders, he didn't have time to complain to himself. He didn't have time to draw his katana either. All he had time to do was open his mouth and slump to the ground, a shuriken embedded deep in his throat and blood pooling on the muddy ground.

"Must you always be so violent Kuro-kun?" Yukai asked as they passed the guard post through the camera's blind spot.

Kurohari said nothing. He had already seen a sign for food and cheap sake. He prepared to fulfill another two of his physical desires as he lit his first cigarette inside the village. They didn't need to be in Iwagakure for another 3 days and they had little to no work here. Just some trouble to stir.

---

Hyuuga Hinata glanced around the forest clearing carefully before proceeding into the dawn's early light. The fetid red swamp still lay in the middle of the clearing and bugs flew lazily in the air. She placed her hands together in a few quick hand-signs before whispering "Dispel."

The swamp slowly began to evaporate into nothingness and before long only the light snowfall remained on the ground. She saw no signs of anyone so she began to stroll out into the clearing and scout the area with her byakugan eye. A low charka signature in the trees to her left tipped her off to someone there and she strode forward slowly. A figure lay hunched in the snow, shivering against the cold. But even as she stepped forward towards the figure, concern filling her heart she felt her body come to a grinding halt. She felt herself be turned against her will and came face to face with Shikamaru who looked bored as usual.

"That could have been an enemy Hinata. Please be more careful."

"My apologies, Shikamaru-san. I was worried that you were hurt after we received no word from you."

"Tell Tsuande I apologize. I wasn't sure if Akatsuki was planning to send any more agents to make sure the job got done. It's not every day they get the chance to assassinate the head of the Intelligence Department. We'd better get back to the village though, before anyone else starts worrying."

"Hai." Whispered Hinata as they shot off into the air. The pair traveled back towards the outskirts of Konoha until Shikamaru broke the silence with a question. "Hinata, how do you feel about going on a mission to Iwagakure sometime soon?"

Hinata was a bit taken aback by the question but recovered quickly and responded, "If Hokage-sama wishes for me to undertake a mission I will do my best to complete it."

"Even if it means seeing Shino again?"

Hinata nearly dropped out of the air at the question and landed on the nearest rooftop. "Shino-kun would be involved?"

"If the information I gathered is correct than, yes, Shino and several other Akatsuki members would most likely be involved."

"How large of a group would be going Shikamaru-san?"

"Most likely you and one other Chuunin negotiator along with at least four Jounin."

"And when would we leave for the Earth country?"

"By the end of the day. I suppose that means you'll be willing to go?"

Hinata mulled things over in her mind. A mission was a mission and that meant that she would have to go if she was needed. But if that mission meant seeing Shino again then she didn't think she could bear it. She felt at least somewhat responsible for his leaving the village and joining the organization in the first place. And she also felt like she would not be quite capable of handling any Akatsuki if it came down to a straight battle; she was a member of Konoha's negotiation team for a reason.

"I will go wherever Konoha needs me to go."

"Excellent. Let's report to the Hokage's office."

---

There were several figures already inside Tsunade's office when they arrived there. To the immediate left of the door was Haruno Sakura who nodded and smiled as they entered. She was obviously the other Chuunin who would accompany the group. Closer to Tsunade's desk was a pair of men who Hinata did not know, and near the window stood Inuzuka Kiba and Akimichi Chouji. The pair of men that Hinata did not know strode forward confidently and the one on the left, a pair of katana strapped to his hips, low before announcing "Masuro Kujin at your service. It is truly an honor to meet a member of such an illustrious clan."

Hinata inwardly groaned; once again her eyes garnered her respect rather than anything she had done. However the second man strode forward and bowed before announcing "Kenji Rasho. Please ignore my partner's formalness—he thinks it makes girls like him more."

Kujin glared at his partner before turning to Tsunade and requesting a mission debrief, so that they might be on their way.

"Of course. Hinata now that you know everyone here, I believe we can continue. I've gathered this six man team so that you can deal with a problem that may arise. It has become privy that Iwagakure may or may not possess one of the tailed beasts. As I'm sure you all know, the criminal group Akatsuki is currently trying to assemble all nine Biju for their own schemes. We of course possess one of these within a member of our village and we have been successful at keeping them from obtaining several others up to this point. We need to make sure, however, that they do not obtain this one as it will bring them dangerously close to their goals. That is why I need all of you to travel to Iwagakure in order to make negotiations to prevent this from occurring."

"The reason that I am assembling such an elite squad is because we have information from our own Nara Shikamaru that at least four Akatsuki members will be traveling to Iwagakure within the next few days in order to perform their own negotiations. Therefore there are several parts to your mission: number one is of course to prevent Akatsuki from obtaining the statue that contains the biju. However, I also ask you to try and remove as many of them as possible to prevent them from revealing too much information on specific ninja from this village to their leader. And finally, I ask you to try and obtain as much information from them as possible. So, while outside of Rasho and Kujin all of you have little experience with espionage missions these secondary objectives should be considered just as important as your first. I also need you all to leave within 8 hours of now so that you have enough time to either intercept the Akatsuki or beat them to the hidden village. Please meet at the village gates within the time I mentioned."

The different groups of ninja nodded and the first to leave were Kujin and Rasho while Chouji, Kiba, Sakura and Hinata all gathered together to mull things over as they strolled out the main doors.

"I think that this mission should be fairly easy. I'll have to make sure I pick up Akamaru before we leave though."

"I'm a bit nervous aren't you Sakura-chan? I mean it's said that Iwagakure ninja…"

"We'll be sure to beat anybody who stands in our way right Chouji?"

"Can we stop for lunch before we leave? I had breakfast nearly two hours ago."

Kujin and Rasho observed from down the street where they sat at a table in the tea shop, sipping their beverages slowly.

"Do you think this will be easy Rasho-san?"

"Fairly. Outside of any emotional attachment they might have to that defector there should be no problems. And of course," Rasho dropped his voice as their comrades strolled by, "that pink haired girl was pretty cute. Wouldn't mind spending a watch alone with her."

"Is that all you think about Rasho-san?"

"Maybe. And this from the guy who started blushing when Hinata walked in. You know she's already engaged right?"

Kujin could think of no response for that so he busied himself with stirring his tea and being sure to order something to eat when one of the waitresses strolled by. Yakitori and dango would make a fine lunch before they went on their mission.


	3. Silent snowfall, Silent Shinobi

Shino woke up suddenly and glanced around at the stone halls of his temporary residence. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he could easily see Rokka's sleeping form across the room from him, wrapped in a blanket. His bugs spread around the room silently and reported nothing of interest. So only a dream could have awoken him. Many people said that it was the mark of a true genius who could remember his dreams—in Shino's opinion if you remembered your dreams they would only drive you insane. Man was not meant to see his subconscious and therefore he should not know the things it tried to pass on to him in his sleep no matter how important it might be. Still…it must have been something dramatic to awaken him so suddenly.

_Hinata…_He stopped his train of thought before it got any further down that track—Shino had long ago decided that there was no point in trying to change the past. Still, if not a dream than what had awoken him from his slumber? A kunai sliding across his throat and a puff of smoke across the room was his answer.

"Good, you're up Shino. Let's get going before the sun rises too much more. Do you want to bathe yourself? There's a stream less than half a mile from here. I've already used it."

Shino considered for a moment and decided to let well enough alone; he didn't need Rokka watching him while he disrobed. Not that she hadn't already seen it, but the eyes she had given him afterwards had been more than enough to worry.

"I am fine. Let's continue on to the base so we can find out what this mission is."

His partner nodded curtly and the two stepped out of their makeshift home. Rokka turned as they walked, made several fast hand signs and the building collapsed back into the ground, leaving no indication it had been there.

As they walked Shino began to question her on the internal workings of the Hidden Village of Stone. As he assumed their mission involved that area, due to the information his bugs had gathered from the Hokage's office he wanted to be up to date. Were there any rebellions going on? Any leaders they should make friends with besides the Tsuchikage? How dangerous were the ANBU? Any bloodline limits he should watch out for? She chuckled as he spoke before answering all at once.

"Shino I haven't heard you say that much since I've been partnered with you. As for rebellions, no, I don't think there are any going on. I'll be able to tell better once I come in contact with a few people. As for the Tsuchikage he'll be fairly easy to make friends with-all we need is a large sum of money and that means turning in a bounty or two. So all we need to do is hope that we find someone on our way there that we can turn in for some money. And if not? Well then I'm pretty sure there are still some people who owe me money from before I left. As for ANBU and bloodline limits? Well there weren't any before I went so unless they've been involved in some major leaps of science in less than a generation there shouldn't be any problem. And the ANBU are nothing we couldn't handle easily. Our only worry is anyone coming in from another village."

"Another village?" queried Shino, confused.

"Haha, bug-boy you think Leader-sama is the only one interested in the Biju? I thought you would think ahead a bit more than that. Konoha at least doesn't want Akatsuki to get any more powerful than we already are. And there's always Orochimaru to worry about."

Shino scoffed before commenting, "The Sannin must have been killed since I left Konoha. Especially because Gako and Ojiki said they saw the Uchiha brat last time they were near Konoha's borders."

"You never know Shino, you never know."

Shino was silent for the rest of the trip, though that didn't mean he didn't drink in the details. Rokka was surprisingly similar to Hinata now that he thought about it. Sans the black hair and distinctive eyes but still…very pretty. He was also starting to wish he had taken a dip in the cold river before they started on their journey.

---

Sakura packed her bag carefully as she pondered her mission. She and Hinata as negotiators was an obvious choice by Tsunade-they would easily balance each other out. Chouji and Kiba was another easy choice-they needed people who weren't romantically involved but were strong enough to protect them if needed. And yet, the two other jounin. She had not met either of them before, though she had seen them often enough around the Hokage's office. They certainly weren't Kakashi that was for sure. And she wasn't really sure if she trusted the brown haired one, what had been his name…Rasho. He seemed to be a little too lax in his manners for her.

_I guess he may be more similar to Kakashi-sensei than I want to admit…_ She continued to pack, selecting at least one diplomatic outfit. A long green dress would do fine if accentuated correctly. And it did match her eyes. Even as she pondered, her boyfriend entered the room behind her, sweat dripping down his black bowl-cut.

She turned to face him, "Lee-san are you done so soon? I thought you would be training for a few more hours."

"My youthful fire remains burning, Sakura-chan but I wanted to make sure you didn't need any help packing."

"No, I'm nearly done. I just need to put in a few more things. Lee," she paused, trying best to form her words in the appropriate way, "Do you know anything about the jounin Kujin and Rasho?"

Lee didn't frown at the names, however he didn't smile as he usually would at the mention of a friend. "Both are more than capable Sakura. Tsunade puts them on par with Neji and I, though they are a few years older. Rasho, I believe, is a defensive jutsu expert though he's a fairly competent taijutsu user as well. As for Kujin he is a great taijutsu expert who uses his different swords to accentuate that. Both are very determined, though not on a level with, say, Naruto-kun.

Sakura sighed; her husband always thought of how someone fought and how determined they were before how they acted. "Do you know anything about their personalities Lee?"

Lee blushed despite himself, "Oh…well no, not really. Kujin is very formal while his partner is…a little bit more like your old sensei. That is all I've been able to gather."

Sakura nodded and finished packing, clasping her bag shut and slinging it over her shoulder. "Well I'd better be off. We're meeting at the team gates in about an hour and I'm sure everyone will want to leave a little early if we can."

Lee nodded before bending in for a quick kiss. Sakura held him close for a moment, smelling the sweat on his body before pulling away and strolling outside into the street.

_I suppose I'll just have to play this by ear then if Lee doesn't know much about their personalities. Still, a defensive expert and a taijutsu specialist are a good mix for a team like this where we'll be running into Akatsuki. Not that Hinata or I will need any protection but..._

Her thoughts continued to swirl as she continued from her home towards the city gates, passing by citizens and shinobi alike and greeting those she knew. And yet the entire time she was thinking of these two jounin and the mission she was about to undertake. She only hoped it would turn out as good as Tsunade hoped it would. And she also hoped that she was up to the challenge it would present.

---

Orochimaru longed for the days of the original Sound Four. No matter how much they bickered with each other, whether it was Tayuya insulting Sakon for being more girly than she was, or Kidoumaru trying to be the logical one while Jirobou simply berated them all for being so mean…well they never did it in his presence! And now, just as he was trying to give them a vital mission, they were arguing again as they walked in.

"Would you shut your mouth you little creep?" that would be Suji. His black pants swished around his ankles and his hands clasped two scrolls attached by his purple belt that held his pale yellow shirt in place. He sneered and brushed some of the long brown hair out of his eyes before continuing to berate the taller but excessively thin Ruko who simply stared back at him with his luminescence green eyes as he brushed some unnoticeable dirt off his long black robe.

"Let's see right now who would win a fight. Really-I'll beat your…"

"That will be quite enough Suji-kun," called Orochimaru from his chair, "can you not keep your tongue in check for more than a few minutes? Some of us prefer silence. The Four turned at his words and knelt down to the ground, though Buke, sheathed in his armor with his axe strapped along his broad back still nearly dwarfed him.

"Apologies, Orochimaru-sama. I warned them not to fight but…"

And there was Osara, the lone girl of the group and yet nothing like Tayuya. Calm and collected, more like a mother and a sister than…well whatever Tayuya had been. If not for her sex, Orochimaru would have liked her so much more…

"Unnecessary Osara-I've become more than used to it. However I called you all here for a very important mission. It would appear that several leaf-nin are preparing to leave the village to head off to Iwagakure. While their mission there is of no concern to me, I would like you to eliminate two members of the squadron. Both are jounin of the village and have proved…to be a thorn in my side."

"Which two are they, Orochimaru-sama?" Ruko rose as he spoke, clasping his hands around the small black book he always carried with him. He drummed his long fingers across it's surface as his eyes hungrily drank in the details surrounding him, never ceasing to move across the long shadows cast by the candles, the thousands upon thousands of scrolls lining the walls. His black hair lay pulled back in a messy horsetail against his black robes, katana slung at his hip.

"You will know which ones they are upon finding the group. They will be the strongest there."

The four figures nodded before letting him continue. "You'll want to travel along the normal paths and there's no need to hide. Just make sure to have some legitimate mission in mind to give as an excuse. Since no one hired it, an assassination mission isn't particularly normal. Perhaps a diplomatic trip to…well whatever it is. I would recommend that you engage them along the Hinode mountain pass, as they're sure to travel it. You are all dismissed to prepare. I expect you gone within the hour."

The four nodded again as they turned on their heels and walked out together. From behind, he saw Suji reach his hand around Osara's waist and receive a smack from her long naginata for his advances. Orochimaru laughed despite himself-the boy reminded him of Jiraiya sometimes, it was a little scary. Pushing the thought from his mind, he turned back to the scroll he had received from the Raikage earlier in the day. Detailed within were a number of highly dangerous lightning jutsus that he had been meaning to learn at some point.

"Kabuto!" he yelled down the hall, "Send some of the stronger captives in here. I need some test subjects!"

---

Sakura awoke the next morning from a hard nights sleep; it had been quite a while since she had taken a serious mission and she had somewhat forgotten what it was like to lie on the ground for several hours. At least she hadn't had to put in a watch the whole trip-the new pair of jounin had taken them. As she rubbed her eyes, she heard a yell outside and poked her head out of the tent to see a sight she hadn't seen in quite a while.

"KYAHH!" with a yell of rage Kujin plunged across the clearing towards a shirtless Rasho, with his katana extended. His partner, who placed his hands together with a smirk, called out "Earth Release: Element shield!"

The mud and rocks around his feet swirled blindingly before clinging to his outstretched right arm to block the katana with a clang. His partner spun on one foot before plunging in low and bringing his weapon up in a sweeping undercut. Two quick thrusts deflected the blows before Rasho brought his other hand up and called up more earth to surround it, creating a wicked set of serrated pincers. He spun on his right foot, bringing the pincers in high at his opponent, who spun to block them before kicking off hard to escape an assault from his other earth encased arm. Rasho roared again and ran forward, dodged between two jabs from his teammate's katana before pulling back and shooting his right fist forward with a bone shattering punch. Sakura screamed out in horror but saw that he had stopped just before hitting his teammate and was in fact, smirking as beads of sweat dripped from his shaggy brown hair. His opponent smirked as well before pulling his katana back and patting his teammate on the shoulder.

"It would appear that we have a spectator for our morning spar!"

Rasho turned and seemed to blush a little before regaining his nature and flexing a little, calling out "Did you like that, cherry blossom?"

Sakura sighed; so much like watching Naruto try and impress her all those years ago, before calling out, "It was rather impressive; reminds me of watching my boyfriend train in the morning!"

She giggled as she watched Rasho seem to deflate slightly before he put his arms down and whispered something to Kujin, causing him to laugh. The pair then turned and walked into the woods, obviously to find some food for them. She looked down and realized she had neglected to put a shirt on.

_Well I guess I got a free show from Rasho so…_ She banished the thought from her mind before it reared its ugly head. She couldn't think like that, not after all Lee had done for her. Still, that didn't mean she couldn't look at him as he walked down the path.

Rasho glanced over his shoulder as they walked, trying to keep his mind off what he'd just heard while Kujin discussed where they were going and the rest of the mission.

"Well, we should arrive at the Hinode mountain pass by the end of they day or by tomorrow morning and then it's just half a day trip through Kiragakure's territory and across to Iwagakure. And once we get there we should…"

"Shut up." Muttered Rasho, kicking a rock down the path and watching it roll end over end down the path.

"What?" Kujin looked up, surprised at the sudden comment.

"Just…shut up."

Kujin turned his head and stared off into the trees, muttering something under his breath before bending down to begin gathering firewood. The pair said nothing else as they finished their short trip and returned to base camp, finding that the others had already gathered some food for them to cook over the fire. Kujin gladly told the others what they would be doing for the rest of the trip, where they would need to go, and asked if anyone would need anything while they passed through Kiriagakure. Rasho was strangely silent for the rest of the day, doing whatever jobs were asked of him and meditating alone when he had free time. Of course no one questioned the jounin but Sakura couldn't help but feel like she was a little responsible. She would have to talk with him about it next chance she got. Perhaps when they stopped closer to the mountain pass Kujin had mentioned.

---

Kurohari was in a great mood. Well, that was to be expected. A cigarette dangled out of the left corner of his mouth and he was currently working his way through his eleventh round of drinks. Well he thought it was his eleventh--the entire bar had taken on a rather muzzy surrounding as he downed more and more alcohol. He vaguely remembered dropping Yukai at the hotel (something Mist or the Bloody something…he'd remember it in a little while). He was surrounded by the usual suspects; those types you saw in every single bar, no matter where you went. Of course there were a few more oversized swords and such but that was to be expected in mist. They were giving him a fairly wide berth on account of his cloak and since he had done nothing else except get plastered than he was in no danger of breaking the rules. Well that was until he had heard the doors fly open behind him and watch people hit the floor. Turning lazily on his stool, he saw three figures walk through the doors, their uniforms clearly ANBU. And dragging behind them? A certain green haired problem of his was held in between them. And they all had various deadly-looking swords strapped across their backs.

He slurred despite himself, nearly falling to the ground as he stumbled forward, "What...seems to be the problem gentleman?"

The first ANBU turned towards him, his or her eyes flashing behind the mask he wore before he spoke, "Does this…child belong to you?"

"Maybe. Who's asking?" muttered Kurohari as he tapped the ash off the end of his cigarette and nodding to Yukai as he brought his hands up slowly.

"We don't like your kind in our village. We found the dead guard and therefore you not only lack the right city passes but you're also Akatsuki. We haven't hired you and therefore you aren't allowed to be here on any sort of mission. State your business or get out."

Kurohari sighed, muttering "Downer man" underneath his breath before flashing his hands together in several quick hand signs. He could see Yukai about to yell something but a roar was filling his ears as she did and he yelled out, "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Missile!" He stumbled drunkenly as the flames erupted from his mouth in a white hot stream; the denizens of the bar hit the floor in various positions as their drinks ignited, bottles bursting and cups firing up to drown the floor and walls in various liquors while the exploding materials shot off into the air like shrapnel. The three ANBU, like all the others, hit the ground to dodge the flaming shot and Kurohari took that opportunity to run forward, plucking up Yukai on his way. As he stepped outside however, he found himself face to face with four sword points and several very angry shinobi.

"You are under arrest for destruction of public property and for the…"

His list of current crimes was never finished however as the sudden hum of hundreds of insects filled the air. The pair of Akatsuki elite merely smiled as the Mist shinobi spun about and slashed at the intruders, merely inviting more destruction as some exploded and still more swarmed around them. They ran right through the wall of bugs as a half dozen more ANBU were caught in a sudden blast of rock that came roaring through the cloud cover. They traveled around the corner, Yukai gripping his shaking hand tightly and found themselves face to face with Shino and Rokka, the latter of which smiled sarcastically.

"You two are a pair of idiots. Let's go before anyone else decides to send a runner to the other villages."

Kurohari sighed as he watched the flames of the bar drift farther and farther behind them as they sprinted out. He had never been able to finish his drinks. Hopefully there was a good bar in Iwagakure. At least there wouldn't be so much damn mist there.

---

Hinata strode ahead a little ways of the group, following behind Rasho and Kujin as she tried to observe what had made the brown haired shinobi so down over the last few days of their journey. As snow lightly began to fall through the air she stared up into it, getting lost in the whiteness. Had she done anything to anger the jounin? She couldn't think she had-she hadn't spoken to him out of any needed conversation. In truth the man rather intimidated her. He was here to help them accomplish their mission and yet it seemed that he spent more time having fun and showboating than he did training. Well, at least until several days ago when his mood suddenly became serious and dapper. He reminded her distinctly of the way that Shino used to act with the team.

_Shino…_She couldn't help but think about him. He passed through her head (ambled, more in the way he always had) every few days and every time it was met with a sigh. She wished she could have spoken to him, could have tried to talk him out of whatever he was planning. She still had no idea why he had left, what he had hoped to earn in Akatsuki that he couldn't earn in Konoha. Still…Rasho was more of a concern right now. As they strolled near what Kujin pointed out the Hinode pass up ahead. At least Kujin wore his sword at his hip, showing his style of combat. She had no idea what Rasho would do if there was an emergency…

"Get down on the ground!" came a yell from Kujin as he grabbed his sword up and swung it around several times. She dropped as he had said, feeling the softness of the newly fallen snow touch her body like a cold embrace. She heard a sudden yell of "Summoning technique: Rashoumon!" from Rasho and saw as a huge gate shot up from the ground to her left. She even watched as a huge dent appeared in the gate, distorting the demonic face that stared back at her. And she felt the vibration run through the ground. Then she saw as three figures landed next to the rapidly descending gate alongside the hulking, armored figure that lay there, gigantic axe extended.

"Well it was a good attempt Buke but it looks like we'll have to fight these ninja. I like the look of brown and pink mixed together. When they're dead of course!" Muttered one of the males to his right, smirking underneath shaggy brown hair.

"I'll take the leaner one, with the two katana." Called out a girl to her right who twirled her staff as she spoke.

"That leaves me with the Hyuuga then?" the final boy, cloaked in black with piercing green eyes smirked as well, though in a completely different way, "Lovely."

The armored one said nothing, merely breathed heavily through his mask. Then the four figures leapt up into the air before descending from the snowy air to attack their group.


	4. Four Furious Fights

_AN: Hello all! This is my first author note of this fanfic and first of all thanks you to all those who have taken the time to review-they have been most appreciated! In addition this is just to let you all know that this story details four different fights that will come in the order as they occur-however they are all occurring at just about the same time and some will have an affect on others (aka if you're wondering how someone got covered in ice it might have been from the water of another person's attack and such)_

_Enjoy!_

Rasho grabbed Sakura's hand as their opponent, the brown haired boy, descended from above, drawing out a long scroll as he came. Ducking low to the ground, the jounin ran up alongside the cliff face and towards the top.

"Why are we heading up here?" called out Sakura as she sprinted behind the jounin who kept glancing back towards his enemy.

"This one looks like a person from Sand-therefore puppets are a safe assumption. If that's right then it's going to be important that we make sure we can see everything him and any of his puppets does; hence altitude."

"Well when you're fighting a guy like me you can only hope to do something to help yourselves!"

Sakura and Rasho spun around and came face to face with their opponent across the clearing.

"And if this pink haired chick is who I think she is than this is going to be more than appropriate!"

With that the shinobi threw his scroll into the air and yelled with a laugh, "Summoning Technique: Human Style puppet!"

Smoke filled the air, mingling with the snow. A shadowy figure began to emerge from the ground, spiky black hair easily visible. Sound style clothing hung off of the puppet's wooden body and its red eyes glowed. With his wooden mouth clacking open a tinny voice escaped the body, "Sakura…Sakura-chan?"

Sakura gasped, but Rasho wasn't foolish enough for that. He plucked several shuriken from his pouch and threw them clear across the clearing towards the puppeteer, who merely chuckled again and brought his hand around to allow the puppet to take the shuriken for him.

"NO!" screamed Sakura despite herself, watching as the shuriken plunged into the painted wood with several clunks. That was her close friend…

"Sakura!" yelled Rasho with a stern face, "That is merely a puppet designed to look like the Uchiha. I need you to realize that or else I will have to incapacitate you myself. Do you understand?"

"Look out!" yelled Sakura as Suji manipulated his fingers and the Sasuke puppet let its mouth clack open. Huge gout of flame shot out, right at the pair of shinobi, quickly engulfing them and shooting over the cliff's face, melting the snow to ash around it as the puppeteer laughed in the background.

This laughter was interrupted however by a sudden torrent of water shooting up from the ground to accept the flames as a pair of lovers, releasing a fit of steam and allowing Rasho to run forward with a cry and launch a series of quick kicks and punches at the puppet that whirred to dodge and block as appropriate. Frowning with concentration the jounin continued to rain blows on the machine as it parried and blocked, before Suji suddenly flicked his right thumb and suddenly the puppets right arm erupted with electricity. The cries of a hundred birds suddenly filled the air and the puppet lunged forward, only to have its arm grabbed by Rasho who ripped the machine parts away with a cry and plunged the crackling object into the ground.

"Well if electricity won't work, I'd like to show you a little trick of this puppet that I installed after extensive research and a little grave robbing by Ruko. You see…I visited Konoha once. And I picked up a quite interesting artifact there on the construction of…well, see for yourselves!"

Manipulating his fingers again, the man let the Sasuke puppet fly towards the pair of shinobi who braced for impact before the weapon yelled out "Water Release: Encampment Wall!"

Rasho grabbed Sakura around the waist, ignoring his feelings and yelled out with a thrust of his hand, "Earth Release: Wall of Rocks!"

The cliff face rumbled and rocks shot up around them even as water gushed from above, freezing slightly in the air and shattering upon impact with the earth style barrier. As the water slowly subsided and the earth wall fell away, they once again saw their opponent laughing at them, "Well this looks like it could end up being quite fun-you two sure a riot to watch," he began to drop and raise his voice appropriately to mock the pair, "Oh no, muscle boy save me! I'm about to drown! NO! I won't let you! Ah! Wall of rocks! God, what a pair of…"

Suddenly the boy's voice halted as he saw his puppet explode in a shower of splinters. One of the fuel tanks hidden inside it spun around towards and exploded against the ground as the black haired head spun across the icy ground towards him. Looking up with a frown and something of a scared expression, he was greeted with a panting Sakura standing above the wreckage, her hair blowing in the wind and a smirk upon her face.

"I already have a boyfriend. And as much as I appreciate it, I don't really need Rasho to protect me. Any other toys you want to throw our way?"

Suji merely smirked, reached to his belt for two more scrolls and yelled out, "I've got the perfect toy for you girlie! It's called the Five Shinobi of the End-Times and I think they'd just love to meet you!"

With these cryptic words the boy launched the two scrolls into the air and laughed as sparks and smoke showered out of them, as if they had been fire crackers exploding. Five shadowy figures emerged from the smoke, hurtling towards the ground.

---

Hinata spun on the balls of her left foot, thrusting her palm forward to slap at her opponent who smartly blocked with the flat side of his blade. He twirled artfully around her, tossed his sword into the air with his right hand, caught it in his left and brought it in for a sharp slash at her waist. She dodged and fell back, her hair ruffling in the light wind.

"You are a very experienced swordsman…" she muttered, prompting him to give her a name.

"Ruko. You are a very capable kuonichi, Hyuuga. I hope that this fight can continue on for a little bit longer. But I was hoping that I would be able to fight the other girl…"

A sudden yell from above them and a burst of fire let both fighters know that the fight on the cliff top was getting violent.

"I think you'll find that I'm all you can handle!" she yelled as she charged in, thinking of what Neji had taught her about fighting sword masters.

_Hinata, you will need to be careful of course. Jyuuken is all about getting close in and if you have to sacrifice a cut for closing their charka points, do it. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will do anything; most often swords users have no need for chakra-therefore you may want to stick with more simple forms of taijutsu…_

Her eyes snapped back into focus as she dodged another downward slash from Ruko. His green eyes flashed and he yelled out "Dance of the Shinigami!"

Hinata prepared herself. Shinigami were the God's of Death and if he was naming an attack for them, than nothing good could come of it. He made a few quick hand signs before spinning his sword in a quick arc. As he did, she heard something. It sounded far off, like something was miles away. And yet suddenly, it was right there, in her ears. It was the wails and cries of people in pain. Even as she watched, Ruko smiled and from out the spinning arc of his sword poured dozens of ghostly faces, mouths wide and hands outstretched in groping fashions. The ghosts wailed as they flew forward at her and she spun to dodge them. As she felt some of them pass through her, her body suddenly chilled. She felt herself drop to her knees, the cold driving her down as easily as any weight. And just as suddenly, Ruko was over her, his sword raised high.

"It would appear that you weren't prepared for that. Not every thing that can kill is of the physical world. As beautiful as you may be, you will be more beautiful when you are dead."

His sword glinted in the sun as she raised her eyes. She tried to raise a kunai to defend her and yet still her arms were heavy, so very heavy. It would be so much easier to fall asleep on the ground, so much easier to…

Another explosion from above jolted her out of her thoughts and suddenly, plummeting from above there was a shower of wood and metal, raining down like shrapnel. Her opponent swung his sword back and raised it, slicing the falling debris apart as easily as if it had been paper. As he did, she felt inside herself, deeper and deeper and suddenly, her mind exploded with memories. Naruto cheering her on against Neji, him trying so hard to defeat him, his revealing the presence of a demon inside him, his blue eyes sparkling as his blonde hair blew in the wind. And there also was Shino, quiet, stoic Shino helping her to work on her Heavenly spin technique, congratulating her in his own silent Shino way. She stood slowly, her knees shaking. Her voice wavered as she called out but her opponent looked up, surprised.

"Send another attack at me Ruko. I want to see what else you think will finish me off!"

The boy merely smiled and spun his sword again. With a yell of "Dance of the Shinigami!" he twirled and twirled and there were the spirits again, their skull like faces glowering and screaming at her. Planting her feet as they plunged at her, she let loose a yell of "Heavenly Spin!" and began to twirl herself, watching as the chakra poured from her and the blue haze filled her eyes. Ruko himself watched amazed as the spirits clashed against this spinning blue dome and suddenly exploded, their cries halted. And then all that was left was the girl, smiling to herself and sweating a little.

"Is that all you are able to do?"

Ruko smiled again, this time more hungrily. "It will be much more worth it to kill you now. I didn't realize how strong you Hyuuga truly were!"

"My name is not the family I am from. My name is Hinata. Hyuuga Hinata."

Ruko smiled again and spun his sword in his hand easily. "Well then Hyuuga Hinata let us continue our fight and see which is more powerful-the strength of your inner self or the strength of the very demons and devils of the underworld!"

---

Kujin swung his twin katana in a long arc only to find them smash against his opponent's naginata. He held his ground, planting his feet as he watched her grit her teeth and try to slide him backward.

"You're a very capable fighter."

"For a girl?"

"In general…" he muttered as he spun away and brought one katana down in a slash before stabbing forward with the other. His opponent merely smirked as she blocked the first than jumped out of his range of attack. The two continued to dance around each other, parrying blow for blow. When one would hit the other they would give no indication, merely continue the fight and spin and dash against each other. Then they would separate, tossing shuriken and kunai and other weapons at each other, both in a desperate hope that the other would slip up. And yet again the flash and clang of their weapons would resound against each other and the dance would continue you.

"So do you know any jutsu or are you just going to keep trying to beat me with these two swords?" muttered Osara as she grinned.

"I have a few jutsu. I could show you, if you wanted me to. Like this one!"

Leaping backwards Kujin yelled out "Rock shuriken!"

The stones around his feet began to fly about, twirling in the air and shooting forward at high speed. His female opponent merely chuckled and spun about, smashing the rocks on her naginata and dodging those she couldn't. She then dropped low to the ground, weaving side to side and swept the weapon underneath her opponent's feet before bringing it up in a sharp upper cut.

"That all you've got? Here's a real projectile attack!"

With that Osara plucked half a dozen small objects from her pouch and threw them forward towards Kujin, who merely frowned and slashed downward to destroy the first one hurtling towards him.

"Got you." Muttered the girl as the bomb activated, showering Kujin in smoke and fire. She strode forward confidently, watching as the other bombs connected and exploded against him. "Guys are all the same-you think just because something doesn't explode when it's near you it won't when you touch it. Just like a woman…"

Suddenly a pair of hands shot up from underneath her, grasping her ankles and dragging her under the ground to a dark unknown. As Kuji shot out of the ground, he was disappointed to see that all he had managed to capture was his opponent's large naginata. And as suddenly as he saw it, there she was again this time with a long chain weapon ending in a three pronged kunai. She swung the chain low and Kujin leapt into the air to avoid it, not taking into account the kunai that swung up to slash him across his leg. He cried out in pain before being brought back down to the ground, the chain quickly wrapping around his lower half. He glanced up to see Osara standing over him with a sick grin. She chuckled as she plucked her naginata from the ground.

"Don't you get it? You can't win against me just because of that little thing that you call a…"

Kujin smiled as her voice suddenly caught in her throat. She turned her head with a wet sound to see his two swords plunging into her back and him standing looking at her. She fell to her knees and he smiled at her, confident as he plucked his weapons from her exposed back with a wet sucking sound. Then she smiled up at him as well and disappeared in a puff of smoke to be replaced by her chain weapon as she appeared behind him .She swung her naginta and he blocked with his swords as the dance continued.

---

With a long yell of "Tsuuga!" Kiba and his dog partner spun into twin cyclones and plunged straight at Buke. The armored figure smashed the first tornado aside with his armored fist, than slammed the other into the ground with bone breaking force with the butt end of his axe. Chouji took that as his cue and yelled "Partial Multi-size! Arm!" and thrust his rapidly growing fist forward to smash the opponent aside. A sharp axe blade was the answer to his cry and he yelled out in pain as it drew blood. Kiba reached down into his pouch and tossed a half dozen shuriken at his distracted opponent who took them as if they were tiny needles in his heavy armor. He turned his helmeted head and his eyes glinted in the rising sunlight. Then there was suddenly an armored foot in Kiba's gut and he felt himself launched high into the air. As he looked down, he saw Akamaru plunge at the opponent only to be caught by his white-furred throat and thrown up alongside his master. Chouji took this chance to run forward with a yell and plunge his fist into his opponent's stomach. There was a clang as if steel had clashed together and then suddenly there was the huge axe plunging at him with a whoosh of air.

"Needle guardian!" Chouji's long brown hair grew and elongated, the spikes clanging together like steel as the axe plunged into them. There was a clang of metal on metal and then suddenly the pressure was gone. Chouji leapt away before yelling out "Human meat tank!" and throwing himself into a headlong roll. He felt himself fly forward towards the armored opponent and slam into Buke. He felt himself push him back slowly towards the rock wall and then, suddenly, there was the loss of pressure and he felt himself fly forward. He halted and spun about to see Akamaru tackling the opponent to the ground while Kiba attempted to plunge a kunai into his gut. The pair was grabbed by their respective necks and tossed away yet again. Even as Chouji watched, the figure seemed to not bleed at all as he plucked his great axe from the ground and threw it towards him in a wide lazy arc. He threw himself to the ground as it landed a few feet away from him with a tremor passing through the ground under him. Then suddenly he was plucked up by his neck, lifted into the air gasping and clawing and staring into the blood red eyes of his enemy as he laughed slowly and deeply.

---

Sakura tried to discern the shapes emerging from the smoky air as she prepared herself for battle. The fight against Sasuke (the puppet, it had been merely a puppet) had been quick enough that she hadn't sustained any injury. But she really didn't know what to expect with these five...

Her musings were cut short as a huge set of serrated metal claws suddenly slammed into the ground alongside her and the air filled with mist. Suddenly from her right the clawed hang emerged again slashing down at her and then, just as she dodged she felt someone kick her form behind. Turning as she fell she saw a tall, blonde haired puppet that opened its hands and let loose a crackling lightning bolt. She leapt into the air, kicking away the metal hand that slashed at her again. She landed a few meters away, pulling out a kunai as she did. And then suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around her and she screamed.

"Silence yourself unless you want to be caught. Haven't you ever fought in mist before?

"Once, as a genin, against a jounin. I did next to nothing. But I'll be quiet."

Rasho made no indication that he had heard her. Then, just as suddenly as she had prepared herself, a sudden wind whipped up around her and the mist cleared to leave a tall puppet standing there, huge slicing fans attached to its hands as it spun around. Then a third puppet appeared behind it and suddenly there was a tornado of fire hurtling towards them.

"Sakura hold onto me and don't let go. Water release: Great Waterfall technique!"

A huge gush of water erupted from the snow around them and a wave engulfed the fiery tornado, washing over the pair of puppets and rushing over the other end of the cliff. Then, even as they separated, both red in the face, there was a sudden figure that emerged from the ground below them and sent its fingers shooting forward like long tentacles. Half a dozen of them attempted to wrap around Sakura who sheared some of them off before Rasho sent a huge rock hurtling at the distracted figure and slammed it off the other side of the cliff.

"One down, four to go." He laughed despite the situation, "And they're all obviously from the five head villages: Konoha, Suna, Iwa, Kiri, and Kumo. We just eliminated the one from Iwa but the others can obviously work together. So we need to just separate them and…

Suddenly the four remaining puppets landed just in front of them. There was the mist shinobi to her far left, long black hair hanging down in a messy ponytail and huge metallic claws attached to both hands. Next to that was the blonde haired one from Kumo with electricity crackling around long fingered hands. Then the Suna nin, huge fans attached to the end of ornately wired arms, and finally the Konoha nin wearing a bandanna and fingerless black gloves. Then, Seji landed behind them with a smirk planted on his face.

"Damn you destroyed one of my puppets. Where did I put that…here we go."

With these words he pulled out a scroll marked with the hidden village of earth and summoned a second puppet, this one with a bald head tattooed with ornate diagrams across its face.

"As you can see, these work best as a set. And I have enough puppets here to be able to…"

"Syrup capture field!" yelled Rasho as he let loose a huge blast of a sticky brown substance. The substance coated the snow, ensnaring the five puppets and their master to the ground.

"This jutsu is easy enough to escape--if you see it coming. But I got the feeling that you would be a bit too overconfident to escape it. So I guess this is the end of our fight."

"I don't think so." Whispered a voice from behind him. And suddenly, from behind them came a mocking laugh and Suji appeared.

"I guess they didn't explain all of this stuff in your ninja academy but I've seen this jutsu before and therefore, I always have chakra gathered around my feet for just such occurrences. For whatever reason, people think that puppeteers once capture just give up. But I'm not like that--I'm just always prepared to escape most basic capture jutsu. And so the chakra is always there--I mean what else would I need it for, except for directing puppets?"

And with these words, the five puppets moved forward and surrounded Rasho and Sakura who glanced at each other, trying to ascertain what they should do.

---

Ruko laughed as Hinata dodged yet another one of his sword attacks.

"Hyuuga Hinata do you fear death at all?"

Hinata was taken aback by the question. Did she fear death? She faced it every day, a better question was COULD she fear death? But more so, she feared the death of the people she loved

"I fear the death of the people I am protecting."

"And who are you protecting today?"

Hinata considered for a few moments before she answered, "I suppose I am protecting my teammates right now from your own assaults. And I am also protecting the people of Konoha and the world from the efforts of Akatsuki. Therefore I need to make sure that they aren't able to capture the biju."

"Well…the people around you will always die. I feel no love for my teammates-I work with them because they are the best of the best in Otogakure. But if you accept that everyone will die eventually than there is no need to worry ever. I fight for my own protection and that makes me powerful. Your bonds only make you weak."

Hinata smiled to herself, and then she declared, "Did you ever meet Uchiha Sasuke during his time in the Sound Village? If you didn't, I wish you had. He held the same opinions about bonds and how they made you weak. He felt the only bond he needed was a bond of hatred. And then, slowly, he realized that this bond only weakened him further. He needed to have the bonds of friendship he had and the love of his teammates. That was what made him truly powerful. And now, with your weaknesses, you will understand!"

With these words, Hinata plunged forward at lightning speed and yelled out "64 strikes!"

Her hands plunged into Ruko, who couldn't dodge against such a fast attack, and pulled back, slapping him again and again, closing his chakra gates faster and faster as she went. Then she fell back, panting, and watched as the smoke cleared. There was no body there, not even a Ruko hugging the ground in pain. Only a small, black book.

"Hinata," came a voice, seemingly from everywhere and nowhere, "I had hoped I could knock some sense into you and simply leave you behind a better person. But now I will have to destroy you."

Then suddenly, a vortex appeared behind Hinata and a shadowy hand, pale purple and covered in inscriptions, emerged from it, claws heading straight for Hinata's neck.

---

Kujin and Osara continued their battle in near silence, accompanied only by the clang of weapons and the sound of a blade hitting empty air. They twirled and spun, and then suddenly an opening. Kujin plunged in, slashing and cutting through the air, feeling his blade connect with flesh and seeing the blood fall from her wounds to the snowy ground below.

"It's over Osara. Surrender please before I need to do any more."

"It's far from over…" she whispered as her wounds poured blood. Then, as suddenly as it started, the blood flow halted and smoke blew from her wounds.

"Kabuto has abilities that aren't merely his. Do you want another demonstration?"

Taken far too aback, Kenji never saw the nagingta blade slashing across his back, wielded by Osara's clone that had appeared behind him. He fell to the ground, tilting his head to see her laughing soundlessly as he fell, listening to the pounding of his own heart.


	5. Enter The Skull

_Here it is finally, Chapter 5 of the story. Sorry that this took so long but a combined effort in revising the first 5 chapters for some glaring errors (thanks High-Elf Swordsman for pointing out the mistakes) and a huge pile of school work/extra curricular stuff to do lead to delay upon delay. However I'm sure you all could care less about all that so here we go-and feel free to reread the revised chapters for better continuity and less grammatical error!_

Chouji awoke slowly and immediately felt as if he had been smashed against a rock wall several times. Judging by his last recollection of the battle he most likely had been. As his vision cleared from its former hazy, unfocused picture he saw the man he had been fighting, armor glinting in the sunlight that peeked through the clouds and his hands empty of any weapon. And there, leaping into the air to land a hard kick at his chest was a man cloaked in a black cloak, his short black pants ending just where bandages began at his ankles. The kick landed with a resounding gong of noise and the man leapt back, thrusting his hands forward and shouting something.

As Chouji's ears adjusted back to reality and his eyes came even more in focus, he could see the mans black hair spiking up above his pale face and several dozen snakes erupting from the ends of his sleeves. These serpents lunged forward at the armored man and wrapped quickly around him, constricting and trapping his arms at his side. The armored head turned left and right as he struggled, but it was too late. Even as Chouji watched, the cloaked man calmly drew his katana from its black holster hip and leapt into the air, spinning to decapitate the armored body. He landed, turned around in the opposite direction, as the body hit the floor and then he sprinted off again, running past Chouji as if he was merely trash that had been thrown onto the snow covered ground.

---

Hinata dipped low to the ground as another pair of hands erupted from (seemingly) nowhere and lunged at her. Rolling low, she shot her palm upward in an explosion of barely contained energy that shattered the first hand even as the second bent at an impossible angle and lunged at her again, claws bared. She leapt above it this time, into the air before the voice resounded around her again. "Hyuuga Hinata it is pointless to resist. You run from the chilled claws of death itself and the Shinigami do not wish to be kept waiting!"

Hinata muttered something under her breath as a large horned head shot at her, its fangs dripping with smoky venom and its eyes yellow as her beloved one's hair. She dodged around and swung a kunai downward with little effect. Though the head was separated from its impossibly long neck, it merely twisted about and flew through the air at her. She threw herself back, only to find a knife flying towards her, its wielder's hand shortly following. She leapt into the air, spinning into a downward strike that shattered the smoky appendage before she stood up, assessing the situation with as much calm as she could muster.

_Destroying them is doing nothing but slowing their advance. Obviously Ruko has powers I've never witnessed before. But how can I stop him?_

As if reading her thoughts from wherever he was from, Ruko laughed at her misfortune. "There is no escape for you! Give yourself willingly, as I myself have!"

As Hinata dodged again and tried desperately to think of a strategy, she saw him. A man cloaked in back ran into her field of vision, dipping and dodging expertly between the hands that were interposed between him and her. And yet he did nothing to help her except thrust her out of the way with one arm as he swung his katana with another. The weapon glowed strangely as he did and somehow he was able to cut through the ghostly apparitions that appeared before him. Then he stopped, standing just above the tiny black book that lay nearly hidden in the falling snow. He spun the katana in his hand and then plunged it forward into the ground, landing it directly in the cover of the book. A scream erupted from all around her as the sword grinded into the black cover and all of the sudden, the nightmarish ghouls were gone and there was Ruko, lying in the snow with his hands clutching his gut. As he brought them away, she could see they were slick with blood and copious amounts of his life were dripping away into the snow.

"Goddamn you…you bastard. You nearly killed me."

The stranger merely nodded before whispering, "I intend to finish the job. You'll be seeing your masters soon."

Ruko merely laughed despite his wounds and then, before she could blink, the snow around him began to whirl and spin. His laugh began to fade and then, suddenly, the snow fell away and he was gone. Her savior did nothing to help her, merely glanced around at the disturbed snow, snorted and spit at the ground where Ruko had been. Then he was gone and she was once again alone. She stood up slowly, feeling the ache in her muscles from overwork, and strode off towards where her comrades bodies lay.

---

Osara stood above her fallen opponent with a smile on her face. Orochimaru-sama would be very proud. She turned around just in time to see the black blur come plunging at her and to dodge out of the way as half a dozen brilliant green snakes came flying at her. She swung her naginata and sent the serpents slamming into the ground before spinning back around and feeling her opponent's katana slam against her weapon with a flash of sparks. She held the position, gritting her teeth and staring into her opponents eyes. Or at least where they should have been. All she saw was she reflected by sunglasses perched atop the man's beak like nose. She leapt backwards, assuming that the man's own energy would drive him forward to the ground after she took away the obstacle

However, as if sensing her movement before it happened, the man simply drew back his katana and watched as she fell into a crouch. But then, before she could even begin a counterattack, there was Ruko behind her, clutching a wound in his stomach and shouting hoarsely that they needed to get out of there-and fast. She looked back at her fallen opponent, but the urgency in Ruko's voice told her that she should be more concerned with her own safety than capturing another piece in a never ending chess game. She leapt high into the air and Ruko lost her in the sun. She never came back down to land on the earth. He too disappeared from vision, even as he stared at the man in black, who merely looked down at the ground and sheathed his katana.

---

Sakura did not think this situation looked good at all. Rasho and she were surrounded by these five puppets and her opponent did not seemed worried at all about the battle. Supreme confidence was something she did not possess at the moment and she could only hope that Rasho had some brilliant plan to save her. The look in his eyes, that lost look that she saw only too frequently when someone brought a nigh-dead comrade to her in the hospital spoke volumes however. There was no master plan, no chance of escape. Only this last, final stand before she either faced death or capture. What would they tell Lee? What would they tell the rest of Konoha? What would they…

Then suddenly, there were three new figures there. The first was the man clad in black who had smiled before the battles began, and next to him was the slightly shorter girl clutching a staff across her shoulders. And slung along the staff, like some captured animals, were half a dozen pieces of heavy red and green armor, easily identified as that of their axe wielding opponent. The axe was no where to be found, but she really didn't have the time to think about that as the man in black-who was bleeding rather copiously from a wound in his stomach spoke to their opponent in hurried tones.

"We need to go. Now. Osara didn't have time to capture the other one. Leave this one as well. Buke and I will die if we don't."

Seji looked at the man and smiled, "I care nothing for whether you and the big lug die or not. But if you insist, I suppose I don't want to botch this any more than you three already have. Let's take these two with us and then…"

Sakura lost the last few words he said however, because mid sentence his finger twitched and one of the puppets launched a gas canister between her and Rasho and they were enveloped in a cloud of lime green gas. She attempted to hold her breath but the gas seemed to seep in through her very pores and slowly, she felt her eyelids droop and her mouth go slack. She felt something wet dribble down from the corners of her mouth and could only hope it was merely drool. Then, as her body began to go numb, she felt her knees buckle underneath her and, as if she was outside of it, her body fall to the snowy earth. Than her vision swam and went completely black as the puppets closed in around her.

---

Later, after Hinata had healed Chouji's crushed larynx and bandaged Kiba and Akamaru's broken ribs, they three Konoha nin sat around a roaring campfire, bowls of soup laying empty next to them and appetites somewhat sated. And across the clearing from them stood the mysterious man who had saved them all, still cloaked in black and still wearing sunglasses even in the dim moonlight. He was currently polishing his katana, though the blood of Ruko had long ago been cleared away, and the mysterious symbols cast into it glowed with the fire's light.

"Who…who are you exactly?" questioned Kiba, being the spokesman for the other ninja's thoughts.

"My name is Dokuro. They call me The Skull."

The three nin opposite merely stared at the dark moniker. Then, Kiba nodded and prompted further, "Why…Why are you here?"

Passing through the area I…sensed that something was amiss. When I realized that Rasho and he," with this he jabbed a finger at Kenji who was sleeping and covered in bandages from his nanginata wound, "were involved I decided to investigate. We'll leave it at that."

"Where do you come from, Dokuro-san?" questioned Hinata, her formal nature showing itself.

"I have no village I call home. I travel the world, doing as I please and hiring my service to others."

"Do you have a plan to save Rasho and Sakura?" muttered Chouji, looking incredulously at this man despite him having saved their lives.

"No. I will travel back to Konoha to save you the trouble but unless they tell me differently, as far as I'm concerned those two are dead."

The three ninja were taken aback and Chouji rose up, his anger clearly evident.

"Don't you have anything to say? Do you even care that your friend is gone? Are you some monster?!"

The man was across the short distance and behind Chouji in an instant, his katana drawn across his neck. "I could kill you in an instant. Death takes everyone at some point. Rasho was a close friend but his death is merely another on a long list of those I have witnessed. If I let myself become dragged down by each death than I would be far more insane that I am."

Letting the last comment slide, Hinata timidly said, "We appreciate you traveling back to Konoha. We trust that Tsunade will take the information and employ it wisely. Do you have any idea who those four ninja worked for?"

"They work for Otogakure and that snake of a man, Orochimaru. If they aren't dead within three days than they will be far worse off for it."

No one had to ask what he meant-the snake sannin's experiments had been witnessed by many Konoha-nin and those that lived most definitely told the tale.

"However I will travel back to your precious village and let your leaders know of the incident. I should be back there within a day and a half."

"Will you at least spend the night? Sleep some to regain your strength?"

"No. I sleep very little and better to travel than sit and watch the rest of you do nothing."

With these words the mysterious shinobi disappeared in a whirl of leaves and snow. And the four konoha nin were left once again by themselves.

"We'll leave in the morning, provided Kujin feels up to it. We are still at least half a day outside of Iwagakure and we need to get their soon before Akatsuki can." Said Kiba as he rose up and turned to go back to the boy's tent. As he went, he carefully picked up his comrade's sleeping form and carried him inside with him.

The other two ninja said nothing as they stared at the fire and soon, tired of the silence and needing rest, Hinata rose as well and bid Chouji good night. She watched for a time as her comrade continued to sit at the fire, probably brooding on his comrades and missing his best friend, before extinguishing the fire and taking the first, unspoken, watch of the night.

---


	6. Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place

_AN: I sincerely apologize readers! I was having major computer problems for most of this past year and only just got a new computer a few weeks ago. And then I was forced to rewrite just about all of this chapter, and then rewrite a portion of it AGAIN. We have quite a few new characters and plot twists though, so stay tuned! Thanks again for reading and reviewing! Also--I have NO spellcheck on the program I used to write this. Any errors you point out are VERY appreciated._

Kurohari woke up with a kick to his ribs and Rokka's scowling face above him. He rolled over on his sleeping mat and tried to close his eyes.

"Get up you lazy bastard." She snarled as she stared down at him. He mumbled something and clamped his eyelids down even more.

All of the sudden he felt a bristling across his left leg. Then, as he lay there trying to fall back into deep and peaceful sleep, the bristling moved farther up his leg, as if a mass of something trying to crawl up his leg. The things moved across his inner thigh, slowly moving towards some destination.

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! I'm up already man!"

Rokka laughed to herself as Shino drew the bugs back towards him, easily allowing them to climb back onto his face and neck, through his sleeves.

"What did you have to wake me up for anyway?" muttered Kurohari as he rubbed at his bleary eyes and scratched his pounding head.

"We need to be ready to meet with the Tsuchikage by the end of the day. We'll be having some form of formal dinner and a sit-down with him at that point." Said Shino in a matter-of-fact manner as he turned around and strolled out the door, "And I'd like to have all of us look around the village at least a little bit before then-make sure we have some backup plans."

Kurohari groaned as Yukai jumped onto his back with a squeal of delight. He strolled with her hanging off of him into the bathroom and drew a cold pool of water into the earthen ware sink. The hotel was nice, to say the least, but he sort of wished there could have been some wood somewhere. If they got caught in a fight, fire jutsu weren't particularly useful for just hitting someone; usually you needed some property damage to even things up in your favor.

"Kuro-kun what are you doing?"

He groaned again--Yukai had clung to him long enough to follow him.

"I'm trying to get rid of this downer of a hang-over." He muttered as he dunked his hands into the water. Good, freezing cold.

"What's a hangover?" she queried again, her purple eyes widening at the idea of something she didn't know.

"I had too much to drink last night in the village. Especially after traveling all day I was severely dehydrated and not in the mood to wake up so early.

"So what are you going to do about it?" she asked again, obviously confused by the whole concept.

"I'm going to use a technique that I learned a long time ago, when I had just started to drink."

Glaring down at the pool of slowly rippling water, Kurohari did a blinding flash of hand signs before pressing his finger tips at the top of the water. The liquid immediately brought itself to a boil, bubbles popping and appearing faster than even the hyperactive eight year old girl could count. Then, the liquid turned a dark, deep brown and steamed slowly as Kurohari looked at it.

"What is that?" she asked again, reaching out to touch it.

"Something little girls are not allowed to touch. Just hand me that glass."

She reached over for one of the rock-like glasses on the shelf to her right and handed it to him. He dipped the cup into the steaming hot liquid, wincing as it splashed up on his unprotected hand and brought it to his lips, taking a long, thoughtful sip. He glanced through the steam at Yukai who looked on in amazement.

"Yukai, please do not tell Rokka or Shino that I did this. They would not be too happy that I was out drinking last night instead of scouting around like I was meant to."

"Alright Kuro-kun. I promise I won't tell them." The little girl opened the door and skipped out as he lit his first cigarette of the day and took a long drag. He opened the drain of the sink and let the brown liquid drain down into it in a slowly spinning whirlpool. Then he walked out into the sunlit room and drank the last dregs of his beverage.

"OK, Kurohari. You're in charge of directions since you went scouting last night. Where shall we get breakfast?"

Kurohari looked at Shino aghast as Rokka glared and Yukai giggled behind him. She hadn't told them, she wouldn't do that to him. But what he hadn't realized is that he had neglected to pay attention to anything except the glowing bar sign on the way out the night before.

"Um…let's go…downer man."

Rokka punched him on the top of his greasy head and smashed him down into the bottom of the ground as Shino stood annoyed. And Yukai? Yukai merely giggled and rolled on the dusty dirt road as people walked by and stared.

"Sometimes I wish that Leader-sama would send people like Hinode and Noko on these sorts of missions. Or at least Hosume and Denkou." Muttered Shino under his breath as Rokka proceeded to throw punches at the ever-dodging Kurohari.

---

Kujin, as Hinata could easily see, was not up to the trip the next morning. However, he realized that they had to make the journey or else they would never complete the mission. The loss of Sakura and Rasho still hung heavily over the group but they pressed on nonetheless. The trek was not too hard and they arrived in the Hidden Village before the sun reached its pinnacle in the sky. Of course, the guards at the front gate gave them the usual trouble.

"B-b-business?" stuttered the shorter of the two, his long bony arms at odd with the stocky muscles of his counterpart who rifled through their papers for the ninth time as they stood there.

"A mission from Konoha-classified unless we meet with the Tsuchikage." Kiba muttered with a scowl as he glared between the two, Akamaru growling softly next to him

"Classified eh? Jae, isn't that what the last group of travelers said?"

"Y-y-yes it was. Very mysterious. They had all the right paperwork though. Strangely d-d-d-ressed though."

Kujin leapt forward at the last comment, grabbing the front of Jae's uniform and picking him up off the ground.

"Strangely dressed? How so?"

"W-w-well," muttered the guard as he struggled against the ninja's grips, "those strange red c-c-clouds…"

"We have no time left. Let's go team!" yelled Kujin as he leapt into the air and let the stone-nin drop back down to the dusty ground. Kiba and Akamaru ran through the guards and down the street as Hinata leapt into the air alongside Kujin and Chouji ran down past the various stores after Kiba, yelling apologies back to the guards.

"Damn leaf-nin." Muttered the stocky guard as his partner tried to brush himself off, stuttering about rude ninja from other villages.

---

"It was good of you to see us on such short notice, Tsuchikage-sama." Shino said with a low bow. He slapped Kurohari across the back to imply that he should do the same and the lazy ninja sloppily dipped low to the ground.

"Well how could I say no?" the kage's voice was low and rumbling, which was to be assumed given his appearance. Large and squat, the man had obviously never missed a meal. However, the four Akatsuki criminals could all feel the power radiating from him and, at least in Shino's case, size usually belied more strength rather than less. The man removed his hat as one of his many servants bustled in with tea for all of them, served on china embossed with the village symbol. Shino helped himself to some of the steaming liquid as the kage continued.

"I mean, what could I say when I heard that you were coming? I assume you're interested in the statue that I possess hmmm?"

The man was no fool; he knew what they sought already and obviously had realized its value to them. It would not be easy to bargain.

"I was hoping that we would be able to purchase it from you-for an exorbitant amount. And of course, Akatsuki is able to provide…services which some ninja would be unable to do."

The man laughed, a deep rumble like that of an avalanche, before waving his hand, "Trust me, I am well aware of your, ahem, abilities as ninja. Considering that my own daughter is among your ranks."

Kurohari sent a stream of steaming hot tea from his lips at these words and even Shino felt it hard to suppress the urge to gag. The two males turned to Rokka who, for once in her life, was both blushing bright red and at a loss for words. She looked between Kurohari and Shino as the pair continued to stare and the Tsuchikage took the opportunity to clear the silence.

"What, did she not inform you? I suppose she was just still jealous of her older broth…"

"Father, please. Our relationship has no bearing on these negotiations. Please treat me as you would any other ninja."

"Do you ask the same courtesy of me, Rokka-chan?" A tall man strolled out from behind one of the chambers many earthen walls and a smile lit his pale face. Brown hair spiked from his head in a million different directions and different lengths. His eyes were the same shade as Rokka's, Shino noticed, and he walked with a confident gait that anyone with true power would despise. Rokka obviously did.

"Rokko, I see you're still sucking at the, ahem, power teat?"

Her twin brother frowned at her words, "Rokka-chan do you really hate me so? I was hoping that some of the gap between us would have…"

"Enough." Commanded their father with a stern look. "May we continue our negotiations?"

"Gladly." Said Shino as Rokko took a place behind his father, keeping up his façade of a caring brother as he swaggered. Shino immediately disliked the man, not for anything he might have done to his partner but for the simple reason that he reminded him far too much of far too many people he knew. If he could, he would kill him before the day was done. However, for the moment, the negotiations were more important.

"Yukai? Do you have the package?"

The 8 year old girl snapped up from her dropping position to pull a large case from out of her cloak. She placed it on the ground and shifted it towards Shino, who opened it to show that there were no traps concealed within. The Tsuchikage however, still called over Rokko to open it again and, upon doing so, was faced with a huge amount of money, stacked and bound in tight packages.

"Courtesy of Akatsuki, if you'll negotiate with us for the biju locked within your statue."

The kage was obviously taken aback at the amount staring him in the face for doing nothing but negotiate. Shino was nonplussed-the organization had more than enough money and no need to worry about expenses. Once they were in possession of the biju they would be able to make as much money as they wanted.

"I believe an, ahem, short recess is in order before we continue negotiations. Perhaps you would like to look around the grounds of the complex?"

"I'd certainly be glad to show them around father." Volunteered Rokko with a wicked grin, eliciting a groan from both Rokka and Kurohari (though for very different reasons.)

"Perfect!" the kage clapped as they all rose, him grabbing up the package of money as if he thought it would disappear if he let it out of his sight for more than a moment.

---

"Iwagakure is particularly famed for it's exploding tags, of which we have over a half dozen unique varieties from the average to our prized "shrapnel tags" and our more well known Dragon's Breath, named for the ancient breath of the Rock Dragon said to still sleep under Mount Bujin-se. And here we have..."

Shino sighed, trying to distract him in the near constant stream of civilians that streamed past, littered with Shinobi. Here in Iwagakure it would appear that most of the shinobi were on missions often and that people trusted the natural rock formations surrounding the country to protect them. Not an unfounded belief but still one that might get them killed eventually if another shinobi war shot up...

"Human Bullet Tank!" came a cry from a side street as a huge ball came shooting around the corner at the group of Akatsuki and their guide, suddenly throwing the crowd to the sides even as Rokka threw up a shield of rock to block the impact. Chouji quickly barrelled through this, however, and kept coming for them, forcing Shino to launch several exploding bugs at him, launching him into the air and sending his old friend back into the earth with a huge cloud of dust.

"Behind you! Fire Release! Dragon Fire Bullet!"

A gout of flames shot from Kurohari's mouth straight at the twin cyclones that were plowing through the air right at Yukai, who leapt into the air effortlessly and landed back on the ground face to face with Akamaru and Kiba, who both growled.

"DOGGY!" cried the girl as she ran forward straight for the dog. Its master turned to stare at Kurohari who shrugged.

"She is eight man. Don't be such a downer."

Kiba launched a punch straight at him for that, which was returned with a quick kick at his legs and the fight began as smoke clouded around them.

"Hinata! You take the girl, I'll take her partner! Be wary of any Iwa-nin!" called Kujin as he ran straight for Shino, placing one hand on the hilt of his katana as he ran.

Hinata did not have a chance to reply, as her opponent suddenly appeared before her with a sadistic smile placed on her lips.

"Let's see what you've got sweetheart! Split Earth Turnaround!"

The dirt and scattered rocks around Hinata suddenly became a vortext that spun and spun around her ankles like quicksand. Rokka laughed even as Hinata began to try and spin, her Divine Whirl suddenly stopped by the movement of the earth.

"I believe you'll find that you won't be able to escape that easily my dear, so let's see what else..."

Rokka was silenced as two jyuuken strikes sent her flying backwards from Hinata, who stood above her even as her replacement melted into the ground. Rokka slammed through one of the shop walls and was sent flying into a wall of exploding tags.

"No jutsus, no jutsus!" screamed the shopkeeper even as he dove behind his reinforced desk and Hinata flashed a gun sign right at the wares her enemy had rammed into, "Explode!"

Kujin smirked even as the explosion rocked the city street and he saw Shino begin to plow straight for their Rock-nin guide. He figured he could sit back for a moment, no need to leap right in. Better to go and find the statue, if it was still in the possession of the Tsuchikage as his information told him it would be...

Hinata spun on one heel and walked forward to save anyone who might still be alive inside the shop; however her advance was suddenly halted as a curl of mud began to slide up her ankle and around her leg, strapping her effectively to the ground. A voice behind her brought her back to reality.

"Oh damn, you nearly singed my hair. I don't really see why Shino has any interest in you at all. You are no shinobi!"

The attack came just as she began to spin, a huge dumpling of earth that was hurled right at her, impossible to dodge. However a call behind her caused her to pause.

"Super Multi Size Technique!" and suddenly there was a giant, plucking the ball of earth up as if it were nothing and hurling it away into the mountains. Chouji suddenly resized and fell to the ground, coughing up blood as he went, "Hinata I can't finish this. I need to retreat. That first attack broke some of my ribs and (hack) I think my throat won't take too much more punishment. I'm sorry..."

"Chouji-san no! Stay with me..."

"Your fight is with me girlie, not with Death. Let's go!"

A rocket of pain was Rokka's answer as her opponent exploded into an attack with a cry of "Sixty-Four Palm Strike!"

Hinata struck again and again, multiplying her attacks each time until she finally had closed each and every single one of her opponents chakra points. And there was no escaping from that defeat...

"Did you think our academy was any different from yours? Kawarimi comes in handy when it's made of mud doesn't it?"

Hinata could only gasp as her 'opponent' melted in front of her and yet another stepped up out of the ground. "Don't worry, I'm very real though. And I am so surprised by you. I figured if Shino was ever going to pick a girl it would be someone at least worth the affection, I mean if you take one look at him..."

"What do you mean? Affection? Shino is my friend no matter what you might have done to him!"

"Hahah! Done to him? I've done nothing. He merely...well you don't even realize it?! You truly aren't worth my time."

With another smile, the Akatsuki made several quick handsigns and cried, "Earth Release, Swift Landslide!"

A rumble resounded behind Hinata and her byakugan allowed her to see what was coming. However she had no way to prepare, and therefore planted her feet and prepared to spin, knowing it would nearly deplete her Chakra to stop such a large attack.

---

Shino plunged forward at Rokko, who thrust up an expanse of rock to block the quick succession of taijutsu moves. Shino merely twirled around it and sent a wave of bugs flying at his opponent, who exploded into a shower of mud and rose up out of the ground.

"What are you doing? You should be stopping these Konoha-nin from destroying my village!"

"Your village already? You lead them to us to destroy us and curdle more favor with your father and you already decide he will give you the village?"

"What do you mean lead them? I had no idea they were here!"

"Sure you didn't." muttered Shino as he sent another payload of bomber-bugs straight at his opponents earthen defenses, then brought up a shield against the shrapnel that came flying at him.

"Why would I lead them to you? And how would I know they would be there? I hate Konoha."

"An insect who is not a true member of the hive will do anything to gain some semblance of belonging. You probably saw this as an opportunity to eliminate a powerful opponent in your sister. And then you would have no competition to kill your father."

Shino rolled along the ground as another flurry of rocks came flying at him and his opponent raced across the distance between them, slamming his fists down on top of Shino's shoulder blades that exploded in a shower of bugs and he fell out of the air, flying through the air on a cloud of insects above his opponent and dropping an exploding note that left a crater in the hard earth underneath him. His opponent, however, had dodged and yelled out, "Time to finish this! Earth Release, Swift Landslide!"

Shino backed up, preparing a shield of bugs, but at the same time knowing that it might prove futile. He would need to consider his options. If only Rokka wasn't so busy dealing with grudges, she might have been able to help him out.

---

Kujin stalked silently through the Tsuchikage's personal grounds. A quick slice across the throat of one of the Chuunin guards and a simple henge allowed him to be relatively unnoticed, though he ducked into closets and rooms whenever ANBU agents strolled by. The estate was large and therefore he was awarded a great deal of these hiding areas. However, it also made it quite difficult to find out where the Tsuchikage resided. And whereever he was, the statue would most likely be. And then he would be able to seize it and deliver it to where it had to go.

Which was not Konoha.

---

It wasn't particularly often that Shizune saw any shinobi around Konoha that she did not know. Even rarer that she would see one that apparently had no forehead protector, sash, or other type of identifying garment. The final decision was the man's odd choice of clothing--all of his clothing, from his large straw hat down to his sandles, was painted down a line (across his whole body no less) that was half black and half white. She followed behind him at a distance before suddenly he turned, twirling a long bo staff and knocking up dust and wind.

"Attendant to Lord Hokage, I mean no disrespect, but please do not follow me anymore. You are becoming a distraction while I am seeking out my target."

"Target? You are apparently a shinobi and yet you do not belong to this village. I can no more allow you to attack anyone than I could allow any of our own shinobi to when in another village. Who might you be?"

"My name is Hadenin Goroshi. I am here seeking a very important target that I only wish to speak with," the man coughed suddenly and she saw that he pulled his hat further down over his hair, "if we were to fight that would be entirely his decision. As a fellow shinobi I expected you to understand this."

Shizune was quickly becoming annoyed; the man's accent, while pleasant, was so prim and proper that it began to grate on her casual ears far too quickly. She was becoming to used to Tsunade-sama. She would also have to put an end to this qiuckly and therefore prepared to send a signal into the air to alert any ninja in the area to this man's presence.

"Well, Goroshi-san did you say? Your name gives me pause enough as it is, as does your manner. Who might it be that hired you to do whatever it is you intend to do against said, hm, target?"

"I know what my name means and it is for a reason. I felt it would alert anyone to what my current mission is."

"Your current mission is...but that particular name means, "Murderer of Loud Ninja." I cannot possibly see how that would reveal any type of mission.

"Who has been called the number one, hmph, ninja at surprising people in your village? A powerful shinobi who nonetheless deserves the title of fool rather than, (cough), ninja?"

"You couldn't possibly mean, Uzumaki Naruto?" With these words, Shizune placed her hands together, preparing a jutsu that would incapacitate this man. He must be a member of Akatsuki but that would not mean that...

"Yes, Uzumaki Naruto. I seek an audience with him. And do no prepare any of your (hack) poisonous jutsu, Shizune-sama. I have no intention of fighting you but I will if necessary."

A cloud of purple gas erupting from the kuonichi's mouth was his answer. The man sighed, and twirled his twin-colored hat into the air before swinging his bo staff in a wide arc and spinning it to whip away the gas. Shizune gasped as his full appearance was revealed; one of his eyes was blood red and the other striking blue, the former half of his face black as night and the other half white as the newly fallen snow. His hair was the same shocking colors, only the sides reversed, and as he smiled he revealed sharpened teeth.

"Again, I do not wish to fight you or any other shinobi in this village Shizune, unless my target demands it. I have no intention of attempting to capture him--I will only face him in combat if he wishes it. And therefore, I could have no interest in the, (hack hack) demon inside of him. Please take me to him, or leave me be."

Shizune was caught in a dilemna. There was no way that she could allow this man to simply continue unattended. But to take him to Tsunade or worse, take action of her own, could prove to be disastorous. Not that the village elders would object to a man wishing to rid them of the young man, but Tsunade would most certainly want more of an investigation to be done concerning the man's origins and his intentions.

"I will proceed to take you to Hokage-sama. Be warned that an ANBU squad will be watching you, so please don't attempt anything out of your prospective plan."

"Shizune-sama, please don't lie to me. I will realize it from your facial gestures." With these words, the man began walking down the street before turning and winking at her with his eye--his blood red eye. Shizune could not help herself from gasping before running up along side the man and watching his every step carefully. He seemed far too confident for one so eccentrically outfitted and his mission worried her, especially given the brash personality of the 'target'.

---

Kotetsu and Izumo joined her as she strolled into the Hokage tower, near to asking questions until they were silenced with a sly glance from their guest. The quartet of individuals strolled down the hallways and up the stairs before they came to the inner chambers which, surprisingly, were open despite the obvious conversation going on within.

"Lord Hokage, I will attempt to be cordial but I have no desire to take a mission for you unless I will be payed upfront."

"Well, Dokuro-san, we cannot offer you that type of compensation at this moment, especially without clear results and,"

Dokuro cut her off, "I always complete a mission once assigned."

Tsunade sighed as she shook her head, "If we were to assign another Konoha shinobi to...accompany you would you trust us? This is not something I take lightly and you would be able to," the next words were muffled enough to the four outside the door, "would that be sufficient?"

"Fine. But I want 2 thousand, up front, no questions asked. And I want to leave today."

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune finally spoke up as she pushed open the door. The man inside wore all black and nodded in a strange greeting, which Goroshi returned, before he knelt down and disappeared in an explosion that left golden sparks flying about the room and black smoke flying through the open window.

"Excuse me, I apologize for the inconvenience but could one of you three please reach Rock Lee and tell him to come here immediately? I have a mission for him. Other than that please leave this...guest, with me alone. I will be able to handle him."

"But, Tsunade-sama, I have yet to..."

"Don't worry Shizune, I can tell who he is. You don't see a face like that too often."

Goroshi chuckled at this, "Thank you, Lord Hokage. You don't see a pair like your's too often either."

The Jounin and her two Chuunin comrades took that as their cue to leave and the door swung behind them. Goroshi turned back to look at Tsunade.

"I see one of my comrades was here, but I have no connection to his purposes, at hte moment. I have a very specific mission. My name, at the moment, is Hadenin Goroshi, and I am here to speak with, and duel, Uzumaki Naruto. Is he within the village?"

Tsunade sighed. She could do nothing, under law, to stop this man from seeking out Naruto if he wished. And with that young man's personality he would most definitely be willing to fight this man. Luckily, the gods smiled on her.

"I am sorry, he is currently on a mission with his former sensei Hatake Kakashi."

"And where might they be?"

"Classified."

"And where might they be going?"

"Classified."

"And when might they return?"

"Classified."

"Well, Tsunade, let's hope I don't change my name to Obaachan Goroshi (NB: Killer of Old Ladies basically) after that little exchange. I'll have to get the information in other ways."

"You won't find anyone to give it to you. I am the only one to have it on this particular case."

"Well then I guess I'll have to stop at the hentai store first and see an old buddy of your's eh?"

With that, the man swung his hat up into the air and dissapeared with a bang and a flash of golden sparks, black smoke filling the room again.

"Gods, they know how to make an exit."

---

Two figures sat sipping tea slowly as the world bustled by them outside the doors of the tea house. The first, a very short young man, turned his head up as if he had hear something odd or smelled a bad scent in the air. His comrade, a similarly short girl with her brown hair pulled back into a bun and a straw hat pulled down on top of her head looked at him with a smirk.

"What's the matter? Smell some girl you dated?"

"No you idiot...I get the feeling that someone in our group has done something foolish. And," with a twitch of his ears he stood up suddenly, "I believe another is in danger. We should go and seek him out."

"I'm sure that," a long sip from her tea interrupted the girl's calm speech, "that whoever it is is fine without us. Do not worry so much."

"I believe that," said her her comrade with another smirk, "that it is Rasho. And one more is already heading towards him."

The girl stood up suddenly as well, grabbed his upper arm and, rushing out the door, left the coins to lie on the table like forgotten children.

---

Dokuro was exasperated, an emotion he usually only experienced when among large crowds of people. And yet somehow this young man had managed to destroy his minimal patience in the span of a few minutes. Not only had he made the first impression with a cry of "The Great Blue Beast of Konoha emerges!" and a flying kick to the head that had forced the man in black to unsheath his katana and block with the flat side, but he incessantly TALKED about nothing at all.

"With the power of youth we will most definitely be able to complete our mission, Dokuro-kun!"

That was the hair that broke the ninja's back.

"Never add -kun to the end of my name unless we are in bed together. And since that will never happen for obvious reasons,"

"That I am a man with a girlfriend?"

"Again, for obvious reasons, just don't do that. Please shut up so we can leave soon."

"I still do not understand what it is exactly that you are doing right now--are you exploding with youth?"

Dokuro did not respond; instead he whipped his katana down at the man in green facing him, whipping up dust.

"I believe that we are meant to be partners in this mission to save your comrade and Sakura-chan. Please don't attack me!"

The yell from on top of his head was unexpected, as was the strange and awkward pose the young man had taken, thrusting out one hip with his index finger and thumb creating a hole around one of his eyes.

"Good to see you have some reflexes. I gather you're a taijutsu expert. Let's go now."

With these words Dokuro leapt off into the trees, hoping to lose his unwarrantedly loud partner for this mission quickly.

"I hope you are not trying to leave me behind Dokuro-san!"

Dokuro turned at the cry to see his ally fly past him, leaping from tree to tree with the quick sure-footedness of an ape.

"Good." was Dokuro's only response as he sped up to close the gap.

---

Sakura awoke to find herself in a small room, surrounded by large tanks filled with a seemingly clear liquid. She turned over on her side, surprised at her lack of restraints, only to see Rasho already awake and glancing around the room slowly.

"Good to see you are awake Sakura, I require you're strength."

"I suppose that you aren't able to use any jutsu?"

"No--my chakra has been drained. I need to you attempt to smash one of these glass tanks over. Apparently Orochimaru has something planned for you because all he did was drug me and tell your unconscious form to stay put. As if that would do any good."

"Orochimaru...was here?"

"Yes, he was here. We must be important to him for some reason."

Sakura stood, saying nothing, but attempting to work the crick out of her neck that came from lying on the steel floor for so long. She stepped up to one of the tanks, glancing at the long black tubes that ran along the edges and up into the grates in the high ceiling. She drew back her arm, crunching her hand into a fist and drove it home into the plated glass before her. The glass resounded with the sound of a gong and drove her back several inches from the tank. Rasho stood up suddenly, throwing off his equillibrium before they watched as the glass had several hairline cracks run across it from the point of Sakura's impact. Water began to dribble down from the tank and then, suddenly, the hairline cracks grew deeper and water began to pour in rivers down the sides of the tank.

"Get read for this." Rasho was calm as he sent a kick into the glass, rupturing the glass further and allowing the remainder of the water to pour from the container onto the floor, filling up the room to the tops of their feet.

"I doubt that Orochimaru has just tanks filled with water. Look out for a trap."

"There is already a trap awaiting you!" came a yell from all around them.

"Mist shinobi apparently..." muttered Sakura as she backed up against Rasho, putting it so that they had a near 360 arc of sight. They turned on the spot, staying together and scanning the room for any enemies that might have emerged. When the attack finally came they were at least somewhat prepared but it made little difference. A sudden bubbling of water to their left allowed them to realize where the attack was coming from, but the fact that it came from two sides made it difficult. Two hands shot out of the water, trailing rivulets of moisture behind their bare skin and shot at the two ninja who attempted to block. The two hands, however, were heading in a different direction and came together in mid air, stretching to a seemingly impossible length before the voice called out again.

"Here I come shinob of the leaf!"

A body suddenly rose out of the water, it's body completely naked as it's arms seemed to slither through the air and back to their original length. The man was well muscled, his body defined and his short purple hair dripping wet yet still spikey. He smiled, his teeth like wooden blocks inside his mouth, yellowed and cracked, and spoke again.

"Two of you? I am surprised once again; it's been quite a while since Orochimaru left anyone here to play. I'd like to see what you can do. Attack me pink-hair. You, boy, stay back for the time. I want to see what she can do."

"This!" Sakura leapt into the air, drawing back her fist again and shot forward at the man, like Lee had taught her. But the man merely laughed and contorted his body in order to dodge the move and slither up her arm, his head right in front of hers.

"Much like my master I have several abilities you cannot hope to defeat. But let you try!"

The man opened his mouth and shot a puff of air into Sakura's face, which hit her nose like a wall of rotting flesh. She drew back, but suddenly, her vision blurred. The man contorted and twisted, laughing to himself.

"Let us see what you can do against this!"

The room swam before her, the tanks flying around in a circle like some carnival ride The air began to darken, spinning slowly like a low abyss as the man's laugh seemed to fill the air around her.

"No one has ever escaped from this without being driven..."

The monster's taunts were met with a sharp kick to the face which sent his neck spinning like a corkscrew and his teeth chattering together like a novelty toy. Sakura stood back and called over, "I have been considered an expert at dispelling genjutsu. Please fight me as you would fight any man."

"Hmph. I am rather impressed pink-hair. Your boyfriend over there must be proud."

Before Sakura could protest, the man sent up a flash of water at her eyes, attempting to blind her, before dropping low the ground and extending his foot right at her gut. She blocked the move but suddenly his arm was shooting at her as well, forcing her to twirl away across the surface of the water.

"Hahahah! C'mon I have been cooped up so long. Let's see something more interesting!"

"How about this? Water Release Rapid Crasher!"

A torrent of water shot out of Rasho's hand, the drain of chakra forching him to his knees and his opponent expertly contorting to dodge.

"Hmph nothing like that is going to work. I hope you've got something better lover boy. Please impress me. As for you," he adressed Sakura with a point of his finger which he extended menacingly, "walk out of that door and down the hall. I will release the chakra seals for you that keep you here. Walk and seek out an opponent, any opponent. Defeat them and then perhaps Orochimaru-sama will allow you to leave. Your boyfriend here will be forced to entertain me for a time. You have until he can no longer do so. Go now."

Sakura hesitated, unsure what to do. Orochimaru would no doubt break any promise that this man made but then, Rasho winked at her. Apparently he had some form of plan or was merely trying to get rid of her. Either way, she hoped he could trust her. She exited the door and walked down the hall slowly.

Back in the room, the man descended to the ground and sat cross legged.

"I am Tenbato. Impress me, Rasho-sama."

"Good to see Orochimaru has told most of you about me. Let's talk about my childhood first..."

---

The dripping cave was the perfect place for a meeting of evil minds, especially when one didn't get wet from the dripping stalactites. The final pair of Akatsuki materialized suddenly, flickering in the dark light.

"We haven't met like this in quite a while--what is it that you need?"

"We have found one of our last few Biju," called back the calm voice of the leader, "But we need to move to interecept another pair of Konoha-nin that are attempting to capture another one of the jinchuuriki currently traveling through the Spring Country and towards an unknown destination."

"Hm," mused one of the taller Akatsuki, "It would appear that we are nearing completion of our first goal. Who will be going to intercept the beautiful little shinobi? I would enjoy destroying them very much!" A clinking of chains followed the announcement and the clash of metal against metal.

"I'd like to keep the two Konoha nin alive in this situation. Noko, Hinode, you'll be traveling towards the Spring Country to intercept them."

One of the assigned members adjusted the zanbatou strapped to his back while his partner twirled two strange objects on nimble fingers.

"Well two little Konoha nin on foot shouldn't be to much more than a mouthful, eh?" muttered the taller of the pair.

"I have information regarding that. The pair are currently enrout tracking the other human on an, ahem, train."

"Trains? No wonder they needed to go all the way to the Country of Spring. Let's go then shall we? I'd like to get moving quickly so that I can be done quickly." muttered the shorter of the partner's, strapping the two objects across his back to create a large X.

"I have some more information for you, as much as I know you hate to listen. It would appear that Hatake Kakashi and the 9-tails are the ones assigned to this particular mission. Do not engage the Uzumaki boy until it becomes absolutely necessary. You must be sure to incapacitate him however."

"How did we come by that information, Leader-sama?" called one of the criminals, propping himself against his nearly 10 foot pike dug into the ground.

"Shino sent it to me shortly before he engaged Tsuchikage and discussed the statue. He, Rokka, Kurohari and Yukai are still engaging in their mission as far as I know, though one of our sleeper agents sent word of Konoha nin in the area. He also mentioned an engagement though he had no details.

"Shino eh? I'll be surprised if he would fight someone from his home village. Especially with that foul smelling whore of a partner..." called the man with metal claws again, his distaste for the female clear.

"Don't speak about your partners that way Norimo. Now how will you deal with the Uzumaki boy?"

"Mwahhah, shall I slice one of his legs off? That should slow even the Kyuubi down!" called the zanbatou wielder as he laughed.

"You must prey on his," the hunched speaker let out a content sigh before continuing, "feeear."

"Hmph. I suppose we'll find out something to do. Anything else?" called the shorter man again.

"No, you may go whenever you are ready. As for the rest of you, I have missions that I'll communicate to you at a later time. And be sure to watch out for Kakashi of the Sharingan Hinode."

"Hmph...I won't make the same mistakes that Zabuza made. And Kisame may have taught me quite a bit but a fear of Konoha nin wasn't one of them."

"Hmm," the hunched form ruminated, "perhaps it would have helped him a bit if he did give them the necessary respect? Eh?"

"Silence yourself Ojiki before I decide to cut up your little garden at the base!"

"Is that a...ahhh...threat? Hm?"

"Silence, both of you. You have work to do. Go, and good luck to Noko and Hinode. Use caution, this is the 5-tails."

The astral projections dissapitated except for the two assigned members, who strode forward out of the shadows.

"Let's go, shall we Noko? Try to not talk too much on this mission."

"Try not to cut anyone into ribbons with that horse cutter of your's hahaha!"

The insulted party slapped the other across the back with said blade and laughed as he fell to the ground.

"Let's go."


	7. Battle aboard a Speeding Train

Shino backed up even farther as the wall of rocks, debris and whatever chakra Rokko had mustered flowed down the road towards him like some unstoppable wurm. His bugs swarmed around him, sending off alarms inside the colony as to the danger to the queen and yet he could do nothing. He sent up shields farther down the road, only to watch them battered aside by the tide. He could do nothing except wait and hope that...Suddenly he felt something brush up against his lower back and he flipped around suddenly, only to find himself face to face with...Her. Hyuuga Hinata. She was backing up as well and as he followed her line of sight, he could see a similar river of death pouring down the street right for her.

"Hinata-chan?"

She looked up suddenly, staring at him with her porcelain eyes as if she had seen a ghost. He used this time to look at her, to take in her form. She had grown a bit since he had seen her, and her curves had matured even further. She looked like any healthy young woman would and yet his breath was taken away. He stared at her porcelain skin and her shining black hair and suddenly felt like scum for taking on the mission, for doing what he was doing.

"Hinata, this is neither the time nor place for me to explain any of my actions. But I will promise that I won't harm you if you can help me in halting our deaths."

She looked at him again, seemingly ready to stutter as she always did. And then, she did the thing that surprised him most.

She slapped him clean across the face. He managed to hold onto his glasses as the crack echoed, but he could not hold back a grunt of pain.

"Shino-kun, that is for turning your back on Konoha. But I will do what I can to save you, trusting that you are still a good man. May you never prove me wrong, or you will find something scarier than Shinogami on the other side."

She bent her knees, planting her feet, and he immediately grasped onto her, avoiding the urge to touch her any more than necessary. He felt his chakra, pouring out of his body and his bugs complaining for the lack of nourishment. He quieted them, though a buzzing filled his ears and he watched as the avalanches closed in. And then, suddenly, he felt his body begin to spin and the bugs sent off more warnings in his body, and heard a shrill yell of, "Divine Whirl!" Then everything was covered in a blue haze and he felt himself slow down, slower and slower, and watched as the rocks and debris, the rivers of mud, were thrown asunder, broken and torn apart by the shimmering blue wave. And then, seemingly as soon as it had started, it was over. And then suddenly, there was nothing but his own panting breath mixing with hers. And he gently wrapped his arms around her in an embrace, and she crumpled against him. And then, he sensed it before even the bugs told him, he spun on the balls of his feet and felt the kunai plunge into his back.

"You are one crazy son of a bitch sweetheart. I wish you would just tell her already. She doesn't even know. And I'll be sure to kill one of you before she can find out."

"That won't be neccessary Rokka. Their fight ends now. And you will have to defeat me to get anything that you want."

Rokka did not respond, did not even glance away from Hinata's inert form and Shino's bleeding back. She only sighed, and then, throwing her hands up, engulfed her brother in a waterfall of mud pouring from the ground as he spluttered and cried.

"Leave her. Heal any wound she has. But then we leave, and pray I don't kill her when your back is turned."

Kurohari and Yukai stood on the rooftops above, observing the conflict.

"God, she's a bitch." muttered Kurohari.

"Kuro-kun? What's a bitch?" queried Yukai with a quizzical look.

"Nothing...never mind. I'll tell you when you're older."

"That's what you ALWAYS say!" she cried out.

"Quiet Yukai! You need to be quiet or else that boy and his dog will find us and I don't feel like fighting anyone right now."

"Well should we hook up with Rokka and Shino then?"

"God! I would rather..." Kurohari caught himself as he realized she didn't know what she had just implied, "Yes, let's go get Shino and Rokka and get back to the Tsuichkage's estate. That dog and the boy will be too busy caring for that fat one we found during the fight.

"Alright Kuro-kun! Catch me if you can!" Yukai raced off onto the adjacent rooftop as Kurohari sighed and strode after her, plucking his ciggarette out of his voluminous pockets and lighting it with a flick of his fingers.

---

Kujin had found the right room, though he was wary of traps. He strode in, however, throwing caution to the winds, and found the Tsuichkage leaning over a large briefcase full of money. And there, behind him, was the statue, a simple stone effigy of a bat with seven whipping tails. He strode close to the wall, hoping to avoid detection. He was silent as death, and he felt the henge fade in his excitement but he couldn't take the time to redo it. And then, suddenly, the kage turned.

"Kujin, it has been quite a long time since I have seen anyone from your organization. I suppose you are here for the statue?"

"Yes, Tsuichkage-sama. And I trust I will be able to leave with it?"

"Yes, you may take it. It is nothing worth taking."

"What? Where is the biju? Has it been resealed? When? How?"

"There was a man...he was elderly and he spoke very little. But he came when I was but a young man, and he told me what the Biju would do to my country. What it would mean to Konoha, to something called Akatsuki that I had never heard of. And I let him take it away, seal it away and told him never to bring it back."

"But what of the information? What about..."

"All lies to further my ends. And, no, I cannot tell you what those are, or where the biju is. It has not fallen into the hands of anyone besides that old man though, I can promise that."

"How do you know? What did he tell you?"

The Tsuchikage sighed as he turned slowly, feeling his girth and his age, "He told me that if someone like Orochimaru or Akatsuki or anyone but him took the statue away...the beast would be released. And that when he died, the beast would avenge his death."

"But why? Where is he? Who is he?"

"I do not know...I have been trying for all these years to find out who and why. But I cannot tell you.who he was or why he came. I only wanted to protect my country, to avoid conflict. But now my own children will destroy it when one of them takes power. I cannot pass it onto anyone else. Ancient laws forbid, passed down for generations. Forever...forever I hoped that one of them would grow up better. But neither did. And if they die, the nation will be thrust into civil war. Kujin, please, prevent that man from dying. Find someway to stop the Biju from escaping and wreaking more havoc. I am," the Tsuichkage hacked suddenly, and clutched at his left side, "I am...hiring your organization. Immediately, all of you. You know my account numbers, the secret ones. Speak to...speak to..."

"Who! Who will have any information that can help us? Who?"

"Speak to...(cough sputter), speak to, Mono...Monomari. The...women who...haunts the swamp...the women...who haunts the swamp."

"What swamp!" Kujin struggled to keep the Tsuchikage upright and speaking but he was no medic nin, nor could he call for any, "Where!"

"I'm...(shudder)...so sorry. Tell my children I love them...goodbye."

And the man died in his arms. Kujin felt a tear slide down his cheek and he did nothing to wipe it away as he closed the kage's bloodshot eyes and turned around, striding out the door and sprinting off to find his comrades.

An insect crawled from its hiding place underneath a pile of money that littered the Tsuchikage's bed and fluttered into the air.

---

As the twins glared at each other, Shino felt a sudden impulse in the back of his brain. Placing Hinata down and twitching from the pain in his back, he strode between the two.

"Rokka, your father has died. We must go, now. I have information concerning (cough) concerning the biju. It is no longer here."

"What? Dead? No longer here? You mean...this beast is the kage!"

Rokko said nothing, merely began to laugh. He had power now, more power than he had ever imagined. He could do anything.

"Yukai and Kurohari will have to..." Shino halted almost as soon as he began, because the eight year old landed right in front of Rokko and smiled.

"Are we leaving just yet?"

"Yes." muttered Shino, "Kurohari! Cover our escape!"

"Downer man...Fire Release: Smoke Screen Image!"

Letting out a huge blast of black smoke, the Akatsuki flew off into the air and traveled far away from Iwagakure, the cackling of the new kage still fresh in their ears.

---

Kiba strode slowly, his mind whirling. Chouji's inert form lay across Akamaru's back and he could see Hinata's body lying on the ground as well. Kujin was no where to be seen.

"The Gallant Jiraiya makes his entrance!" a bellow came from above as a huge toad landed directly in front of Kiba, causing the ground to rumble and sending a blast of smoke into the air from his pipe.

"Hmph, Jiraiya, what are we doing here anyway?"

"Transport duty. Are you Kiba?"

The old sannin sniffed the air slowly, "Yup you smell like an Inuzuka. Let's go, get your comrades."

"But...but...Kujin is gone. I don't know where he is."

"Least of my worries--that guy can take care of himself. Let's get the wounded out of here."

"But...but...Akatsuki escaped...and...the biju..."

"The biju is no longer here, Kiba-kun." Hinata's tiny voice called over the giant toad.

"Eh...there's a pretty girl lying over there Jiraiya. Get that kid to go get her."

"Hmmm the Hyuuga girl, is she alright?"

"I am fine, merely drained. But I heard what I heard, Shino-kun...Shino said that the biju is no longer here in Iwagakure. It's not here."

"Well then we had better get going. Hop aboard old Gamabunta here!"

"Jiraiya...(puff) I am not a horse. You ride me because I let you, and these kids will ride because they are injured. Hmph."

Kiba sighed and leapt into the air alongside Akamaru as he watched Hinata land beside him. It was going to be a long journey home.

---

Sakura strode down yet another endless corridor of the Sound compound, feeling her legs begin to ache. She had yet to find any one...at all. No shinobi, no villagers, no prisoners, no other ninja, no one. Where was everyone? What were they doing? Invading another country? She could think of no plausible solution. That was, until she suddenly was faced with a bustle of people rushing down the corridor. She turned around and ducked inside one of the numerous doorframes, trying to conceal herself. However, the people that rushed by seemed to have no interest in her. They must be...experiments. Some limped while others ran on the stitched up legs of other people, still others dragged themselves along on the ground, barely able to support their own weight. Some had two heads, or three arms, and still others had tentacles and claws and other horrible extremities. They were burned or singed some of them dripping wet, all of them like prisoners who had no hopes of escape. And all of them yelled the same thing, as if they were pentinents in a chant.

"Pink Haired girl, Pink Haired Girl, Freedom! Pink Haired girl, Pink Haired girl, Freedom!"

Tenbato had apparently lied. But then suddenly, the crowd stopped pulsating, as if they were one amoeba and turned around. There was a sudden crash and a burst of light.

"Sakura-chan! The Great Blue Beast Arrives!"

The crowd turned, their eyes lolling, their faces hungry with bloodlust. Sakura groaned as Lee came bursting around the corner, followed by some mysterious man in black who seemed to have the same reaction as her.

"Freedom!" screamed the captives as Lee halted in his tracks. And the man in black, whoever he was, stepped forward.

"I'll handle this one. Move it or help me spandex-boy."

The man unsheathed his katana calmly as could be and the blade glowed scarlet suddenly as he let loose a cry and the blade extended, shooting forward as if by magic and impaling the first prisoner, whom screamed as the man proceeded to flip him over his shoulder into the back wall where his vertebrae audibly cracked and his body slumped in half.

"Who's next?" called the man in black as he planted his feet.

"I'll take a few!" called Lee as he launched himself into the air, "Konoha Whirlwind!"

Several more of the prisoners were sent spinning into the stone walls to their deaths before they seemed to realize that these were no pushovers. And then, suddenly, they surged forward as one as Sakura could only watch in horror.

---

Dokuro was mad. He had been traveling nearly 48 hours with this idiot of a guy and he was still incessantly talking. But that helped, that he was mad, in this fight. He spun on the balls of his feet and sent his katana plunging into yet another of the monsters and he sent a kick into the gut of another, sending him flying into the wall. The spinning green whirl plunged through another half dozen with an eclectic combination of kicks, punches and headbutts, and Dokuro was somehow impressed. Not too impressed, but the kid might make a good addition to his organization. He turned, sliced the head off of one beast and sent the katana on its arc to smash to face of another, shattering it's face before he punched the rest of it inwards like bad fruit. He then kicked out another's ankles from under it and sending it crashing into the one behind, both of which he sliced through with his katana. The others were dispatched in due time by either him or by Lee's taijutsu and they stood facing Sakura across a veritable ocean of bodies. Lee strode forward, stepping around displaced limbs and pools of blood before engulfing her in a hug.

"Sakura-chan! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"Lee-san...I am fine. But...why? How? Who?"

"I can answer those. I went to Konoha after helping the rest of your squad against those Sound-nin and I traveled to Konoha. I informed Tsunade what had happened and she hired me to take Lee to where you were being kept."

"How did you know where we would be?"

"That I cannot reveal. Where is Rasho?"

"He...I mean, he was down and..."

"I'm here," came Rasho's voice as he shook water out of his hair while he walked down the corridor, "All accounted for. Dokuro I am surprised to see you here though."

"How did you beat Tenbato?" asked Sakura curiously.

"Don't ask, please. Dokuro, my question still stands."

"I go where I am payed to go. Now let us go. Lee, you can take Pinky here back to Konoha."

"Pinky?!" cried Sakura as Lee winced.

"Earn my respect, then I'll take the time to learn your name. Rasho, let's go. We have business to attend to."

The pair of Ninja walked down the corridor before dissappearing in a burst of black smoke and yellow sparks. Lee turned to Sakura and smiled broadly, "Shall I carry you back my beautiful flower?"

Sakura sighed and smiled as well, "That won't be neccessary Lee. Let's just get back to Konoha. I want to see Kakashi and Naruto and everyone else."

---

Dokuro and Rasho materialized over two circles in an unknown clearing in an unknown forest. 8 similar circles surrounded them, all but one of them already also occupied.

"Ah, you two arrive. I told you they would be fine Kujin." The voice of the hulking black man was gravelly and his headband dangled from his waistband.

"Ah..any injuries, that I might take care of?" came the query of a thin, lanky man who splayed his fingers as his eyes widened.

The two ninja both shook their head at their comrade Ichiro and glanced around the circle of shinobi. The only girl of hte group, her hat still pulled low over her bun smiled slowly at Rasho before glancing back, and her comrade, a short shinobi with long sideburns and a goatee smiled as well, though his was a bit more full.

"Rasho, if you are done flirting we can keep going. Hitura, listen up."

The girl and the two shinobi snapped up and looked at the elderly man who had spoke, who turned around to look at all of them.

"The only one missing is Goroshi but I know he is on a mission. The reason I have called everyone here is Kujin's information from the Tsuchikage. We have a new mission for everyone--locate this "Women who Haunts the Swamp, also called Monomari." She has some information involving the location of the 7 tails Biju, which is currently in the possession of an old man who is holding it for unknown reasons. It is known that though he may do anything with it, it will not fall into anyone elses possession without the beast being unleashed. We need to find this woman and then find this man."

"Hmph," grumbled the black shinobi, ", Kobachi, this seems like a fools errand. We have no knowledge to go off of except to investigate every swamp from here to the other side of the world. Where are we meant to start?"

"It will garner us some money, Iroku. And that knowledge will be worth a great deal to a number of other parties. And we need to make ourselves known soon or else our group faces extinction."

"Akira," said the elderly man with a glare, "our organization can never die. You all have the information you will get. I am splitting the teams up accordingly--Rasho and Medokabe you can go together, Kujin and Dokuro together, Iroku and Hitura, and finally Akira and Ichiro. I will await Goroshi's return and inform him of what is going on. He will be the final member of this investigation. I will also be investigating and keeping in contact with you via our usual routes. Please be discreet--we know that Akatsuki and others will be seeking this information and what these two mysterious elders can offer us. Be swift and cautious in your efforts."

The other shinobi merely nodded before they shot off into their respective teams and dissappeared from view.

---

"Ah...Kakashi-san this is so boring! When are we going to start the new mission? We've been riding this train for nearly an..."

"Its only been an hour Naruto," replied the blonde's former sensei, "And I will explain the mission when the time comes. Be patient."

"Hmph...be patient. That's all you ever tell me. We should be out fighting Akatsuki! Finding Orochimaru! Doing something exciting and to hel pteh villgae more!"

"We are helping the village immensely merely by doing our shinobi duty. Respect Hokage-sama--she will not steer you wrong."

"The village elders might..." muttered Naruto, but he quieted. Even after his teenage years, the boy was still exuberant but it was with a good heart. He merely wanted to do the best things for the village. And he was probably worried about Hinata, Kakashi mused. He should really explain the missionto the boy but it was a complex one. I mean, how could he explain to him that somewhere on this train was a fellow Jinchuriki, an elderly man who supposedly held the 5 tails within him? And this man, they were meant to take him back to Konoha and attempt to convince him to join their side in this crazy war, where sides were constantly redrawn and allies were lost while you joined with your enemies. There were even those who chose the path of least resistance and stepped aside, as Sasuke had done. But the loss of the Sharingan for Konoha meant that they must seek other allies, more...unorthodox ones. And Naruto's history of dealing well with fellow jinchuriki was enough to reccomend him for the mission. Still, he would have a lot of questions for the old man, things the man might understand after years with a demon better than the young man did even after a little over 20 years with one inside him. And that would mean a lot to Naruto, especially since Gaara no longer had the Shukaku within him. Still...he needed to be prudent. He would tell him soon.

---

The pair of Akatsuki landed soundlessly on top of the train, the shorter glancing around for any enemies.

"No one followed us Noko, no need to worry."

"Hinode, I will worry when I want to. That is my job--your job is to cut people up like sushi."

"Hmph...well let's get this over with. Are you going to get us in there or what?"

"Hmph, just a minute. We need to get to the front of the train."

"Ha! We'll handle that after we capture the Jinchuriki. I'm going in now!" the taller Akatsuki concentrated his chakra and sliced a thin hole in the car beneath them, which was swiftly coming up on a turn. then he merely melted through the hole as if he were water and appeared below Noko.

"Coast is clear Noko. Get down here."

"Hmph just a minute." muttered his partner as he unstrapped one of his boomerangs. He clutched the weapon by a hole in the center and activated it with his chakra, watching as cutting blades sliced out of the top. He then sliced open a hole in top of the metal and leapt down into the train, rising to stand beside his partner.

"The Boiler Room. Perfect choice. We have no idea where they are or how to find them!"

"Shut your mouth and stop complaining. And I have the perfect way to find them."

"Henge!" the bandaged Akatsuki suddenly changed into a conductor with a hawk nose and bushy eyebrows, his shock of white spikes flattening into a crewcut topped by a blue hat. His partner followed suit and morphed into a taller, lanky waiter carrying a tray.

"You always want to be tall you idiot. This won't full the sharingan, so don't do anything to suspicious or we'll draw attention. When you find him, signal me with the bond and then we'll get them both, then find the jinchuriki."

"What if I find the old man first?"

"Well then call me up there because you won't be taking your first one alone." called Hinode as he laughed, ducking into the corridor and into his character. Noko frowned and was prepared to make a retort but he chose to simply bustle out and start asking if anyone wanted anything--no one really expected any waiter to return did they?

---

Goroshi was rather annoyed, a state the quirky ninja didn't not often find himself in. He was, first of all, bored of sitting on this train, which he had taken from outside Konohagakure until he reached the Spring Country. Then, when he had seen his target clearly through the window, he was halted by an elderly man who required several attendants to help him find his seat. That debacle caused the corridor to be blocked until the train started moving again, as that seat happened to be right across from Goroshi. And finally, the man was sleeping in his seat, snoring loudly and mumbling about demons and monsters.

"Hmph. I need to find that boy and declare my intention before too long. I doubt that Kobachi will appreciate me missing that meeting unless I check in soon."

But then, Goroshi suddenly realized something. Why should he wait? He was hired to do this sort of thing all the time and therefore was part of a legitimate organization. Any non-shinobi on the train would avoid him, and any other shinobi would not wish to interfere in something outside their own village. The only thing standing in his way was that silver haired man who accompanied Naruto, and he would be no trouble if the boy was as hotheaded as the information supplied would have it. Still...he had better let them be lulled a bit more by the train ride. And he would pay attention for anyone else boarding the train so that he might know if any other Konoha-nin were aboard. The man, despite this scheming, still slept on and Goroshi groaned as a new fit of babbling set it. He would wait an hour...no half an hour to do what was needed.

---

Kakashi noticed the man as soon as he stepped through the door. Not only was he transforming his appearance to that of a conductor, but his normal appearance was bizzare. White spikes of hair shot up from his head, which was bandaged as was the rest of his body. Kakashi somehow could not see through these bandages, but the Akatsuki cloak and zanbatou strapped across the man's back were enough to offer a need for caution. He rose from his seat, turning to Naruto with a smile, "Naruto, I need to go and use the bathroom. I'll return in a little while--don't get into mischief."

He rose from his seat and walked towards the man, ignoring Naruto's protests that he wasn't a kid anymore. Then...he continued to walk, trying to avoid looking at the man and drawing a kunai at the same time. He turned and suddenly, with the silence brought on by years of ANBU training, he drove the kunai right at the man's arm, shearing it off at the elbow and dispelling the henge. The man was taller than his transformation had been, and he seemed twice as menacing when he suddenly rose above Kakashi. He looked down at his severed arm, which did not bleed somehow, and laughed deeply.

"Kakashi of the Sharingan, killer of Momochi Zabuza, one of Konoha's greatest ninja. Your death will be a tasty addition to my list!"

And suddenly, the mans arm seemed to pulse and flail and then there were two forearms extending from his elbow, pale orange in color with grasping hands. Kakashi gasped and turned, only to find the man's zanbatou slicing across the top of the carriage and slashing right towards him. He couldn't dodge, couldn't think and then suddenly, he was cut in half. The man laughed but then, as he turned to Naruto, he found Kakashi standing before him, forehead protector up and sharingan activated.

"You are here for Naruto but I will not allow you to take him. Naruto, go up to the roof of the train and stay there, avoid being seen."

Naruto didn't respond but merely glared at Kakashi and the Akatsuki before slicing a hole in the roof and leaping through it. Kakashi's hair fluttered in the sudden breeze and his opponent chuckled as he clutched the zanbatou in his newly created arms, his other jabbing at Kakashi.

"It will be well worth it to kill you, but I'm not here for that boy, not just yet. I'm here for someone else."

Kakashi was taken aback--how did Akatsuki already know of the presence of the Jinchuriki on the train? Where would they have gotten such sensitive information. And who was this man? He knew that Akatsuki had been refurbished with new members but this one seemed so different from any other he had ever faced. He must be a Mist Shinobi, that much was clear, but what of his powers? Were they a kekkei genkai? Genetic Modification? Something from the very reaches of Hell?

"I am Riyuki Hinode, and I will be the one to finally destroy you Hatake Kakashi. Prepare for death!"

The man twirled on the balls of his feet, the zanbatou dragging behind him, and then suddenly he drew kunai from no where and sent them launching for Kakashi, who dodged and ducked around the seats of the train as he felt them embedding in the plush seats. He rose and threw his hands together with a shout of "Chidori!" and he suddenly was right there in front of Hinode, looking up into his somehow eyeless, bandaged face, and plunged his fist right through the man's heart. Or at least where it should have been--the laughter that the man offered somehow made Kakashi think otherwise.

"Hahah, Kakashi I expected better!"

The man looked down at the hole in his chest and suddenly, the orange skin flowed back over it, speckled with black and then, an eyelid opened and a blue eyeball stared out at Kakashi as it's master laughed again.

"Let's end this! Water Release, Rapid Crasher!" The bandages around the man's stomach were suddenly...eaten away and a large black mouth with serrated teeth was suddenly released. Kakashi prepared to hold his breath and then suddenly, from the mouth, there was a torrent of water that suddenly filled the car and sent itself shooting up through the hole Naruto had made like some sort of giant whale. Kakashi spun in the sudden torrent but his opponent wasn't visible. He pumped his arms and legs, struggling against the sudden current and punched a second hole in the top of the train, letting the rest of the water erupt outwards as he hoped Naruto was OK. He glanced around his soaking wet surroundings and tried to find his opponent, who seemingly wasn't there. But then, as he leapt into the air to check on Naruto, from out of one of the puddles a sudden pair of hands shot up and grabbed his ankles, throwing him against the opposite walls. His opponent rose out of the watery hiding place and strode forward, zanbatou pointed before him as he laughed and said, "Your end draws near, Hatake Kakashi. I'm sure someone will pay a great deal for your sharingan eye after I pluck it out. And then, I'll do you the honor of eating your legs and arms first, leaving your heart for last."

The mouth that had opened in the man's stomach gaped at these words, and a long pink tongue flicked its way through the teeth and stretched forward at Kakashi.

Then suddenly, the man was halted. Kakashi looked as the mouth gasped and the man questioned into the air, "What? Where? How?"

"Shadow Imitation. I figured my fellow Konoha-nin could use some help!"

Shikamaru strode through the now open door to the next car, carelessly splashing up through the puddles as his opponent did the same until they were face to face. Shikamaru opened up his hands and the man's zanbatou clattered to the floor as his single revealed eye glared at the shadow wielder.

"Kakashi, finish him off please."

Kakashi didn't have the heart to tell Shikamaru that he didn't know how to, but he prepared a second chidori and felt it crackling in his hands before he was suddenly knocked off his feet and a huge boomerang came clattering back around to land in the long fingered hands of a shaggy blonde youth, also in an Akatsuki cloak. The man smiled and twirled the boomerang alongside his second one.

"Let go of him or you'll be shredded alive while you wait. Your choice, street performer."

Shikamaru groaned as his captured prey laughed and told his partner to go up on top of the train to take care of the jinchuriki. Cut off one of his legs and bring it back and he could deal with the brats on his own. His shorter partner nodded and leapt up through one of the holes cut open in the train. Shikamaru smiled and looked at Kakashi before declaring with a lazy drawl, "That takes care of him. Let's get this one over with so we can watch the fun."

"Hahhaah your overconfidence in the Kyuubi boy is unfounded. Noko won't lose to him."

"Who said anything about losing to Naruto? He's an idiot. I'm talking about a friend of mine."

---

Naruto was cold on the roof of the train car. Not only was it winter and it was icy, but a brisk wind was blowing and he had left his scarf down in the car underneath him. However, just as he was thinking that he might want to go get it, he saw the flickering of light below him and heard shouting. Then another hole exploded and water suddenly gushed out at him like he was between two whales. He dodge the water, which sprinkled back down on him, adding to the goosebumps, and plopped down on the cold metal. This sucked. And when the shaggy blonde in the Akatsuki cloak came flipping into the air in front of him, spinning two boomerang on his fingertips, it just added to the general suckiness of the situation.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I presume. Wind Release, Pressure Damage!"

Twirling his two black boomerang, the man suddenly threw his hands in a complicated pattern and sent a wave of wind flying right for Naruto, who leapt into the air and felt himself flip over by the pressure beneath him. He managed to dodge, however, and ran forward at the man yelling, "Shadow Clones!" Where once was one, suddenly a dozen Naruto's leapt into existence. The man smiled, activated his boomerangs, and spun, watching as they sliced through the clones and sent the real Naruto flying backwards to land painfully on his back.

"Good, now I know what you can do. Let's go!"

With usual brashness, Naruto plunged forward across the train car, dodging the bursts of wind that came flying at him, but was still driven back by the force.

"Time to rethink my strategy...Summoning Technique!"

Biting his thumb and sliding it across the cold metal, Naruto watched as a cloud of smoke rose from the train car and an armored toad leapt into existence.

"Gamakichi! Oil!'

"Got it kid!" The toad opened it's mouth and sent a burst of oil shooting forward at the man, which Naruto ignited with a quick fire attack. The man yawned and smirked before spinning one of his boomerangs and sending the flames flashing about in a circle, thrusting the other one forward through the air. The weapon spun and clanged against the toad's armor, throwing it off the train and leaving Naruto near defenseless. But that was what he wanted--as the man threw his other boomerang in an effort to catch him between the two, Naruto leapt atop one of them and with a yell of "Rasengan!" sent his spiraling sphere plunging right into the man's stomach, throwing him off of the car and slicing him apart.

The man rose slowly, his stomach having obviously taken quite a bit of damage. However, he smiled and then dissipated, leaving a cloud of smoke.

"Wind clones, very useful when fighting a close range fighter!" called the man as he hovered above Naruto on top of one of his boomerangs.

"Piercing Air Bullet!" A huge blast of chakra enhanced wind plunged downwards at Naruto, but he watched as his opponent was knocked off his feet by a second boomerang and Gamagkichi appeared to block the attack, throwing it back against the quickly passing mountains with his armored forearms.

"Hmph, kid that was close."

Naruto said nothing as he watched his opponent flip through the air and land beside him, grasping both boomerangs in his hands.

"I'm going to have to finish this quickly now...I don't want to wait too much longer. Prepare yourself, Kyuubi, for this! Spinning Return to the Gods!"

Naruto drew back but, suddenly and without warning, was kicked up into the air by his opponent, who gave a toothy smile before spinning in a circle and creating a huge whirlwind. Naruto felt his body pierced by, what felt like, huge blades, and watched as his opponent spun in the whirlwind around him. Then suddenly, he was there again, punching and kicking and pummeling him from side to side, knocking him about like a rag doll. Then he appeared above and knocked Naruto back down to the roof of the train with an earth shattering punch. The metal resounded heavily with the impact and Naruto looked up at the sky as his opponent calmly landed behind him, sheathing the boomerangs.

"That should hold you for a bit." he muttered before preparing to cross to the next car's rooftop.

"But not me!" came a yell as a large bo staff suddenly shot forward and the Akatsuki was caught in his cheekbone, which cracked with the impact and thrown down to the ground. Naruto looked and saw, strangely, an apparition, like something from a dream, half white and half black before he felt himself blacking out and the Kyuubi chakra dancing over his numerous wounds.

---


	8. Goroshi emerges, what is his purpose?

A pair of shadowy figures materialized within the confines of the Iwagakure estate even as Rokko strode into it. The man, entranced as he was with his new level of authority however, took no notice of this. The taller of the two figures, a veritable giant even in comparison to the confident stone nin strode forward out of the shadows into the cones of light cast by the scattered candles. He drew a kapetch from the pouch attached to his leg and crouched to the ground in an attempt to reduce his size. He rose again however, when he came up behind Rokko, grasping his arm behind one powerful arm as he pressed the weapons sharp side against the man's stomach.

"Easy now. We're here to investigate your late fathers records. You're going to let us do so without any trouble and then we'll be on our way."

Rokko glanced to the side as the man's comrade drew his spiked whip and let it rest like a sleeping snake in his left hand. He then glared down at the weapon so close to his vital parts before nodding in assent. His attacker let him drop to the floor to clutch his bruised windpipe as he strode forward.

"Hitura, search the adjoining rooms for anything while I make sure this guy doesn't escape. I'll assume the record's room is within this compound?"

The newest Tsuchikage gave no response, garnering a smile from the tall black man. "I'll take that as a yes. Go."

His partner strode out of the room silently and into the next room, where he could be heard rummaging around the various hiding holes therein.

"Now then. Do you have any knowledge of any of your father's associates? Perhaps a list of missing nin from the village? Anything of that sort?"

Rokko sighed, his annoyance audible. "Of course we have all sorts of records. I, however, can't allow you to investigate them without some sort of identification..."

Even as he finished his sentence, the man found his windpipe beneath the heavy foot of the newcomer, the man's brilliant green eyes staring down into his.

"Let me ask you again. Where are your father's records of associates and missing nin. I need them. Now."

"I don't think that will be necessary." The response came from across the room and as the tall man turned to look, he was struck across the face with the flat edge of a long broadsword. He felt his cheekbone crack and as his eyes shifted out of focus, he heard the pound of sudden rain upon the roof of the compound.

---

Hitura heard someone's body hit the floor of the room adjacent but dismissed it as merely his partner enforcing his order. However, the pounding rain that suddenly fell in a deluge across the top of the compound pulled his eyes upward. In such cold weather, any sort of precipitation should have been transformed immediately into snow...

He felt something creep up his arm and spun around to find a half dozen vines creeping around his body. Even as he brought his weapon up to slap them away, however, they suddenly constricted and brought him to the ground. He looked up to see a short, hunched figure looking down at him from behind a mottled green death mask. The figure gave a short barking laugh. "I can...ah...sense your fear..."

Hitura's screams echoed as the man placed long, thin fingers around his throat, and then he fell into unconcsiousness. The man dragged him by his collar back into the other room, dropping him to the ground alongside his partner. His tall partner turned to Rokko who glanced between the two, his expression changing from one of fear to admiration several times before the man spoke.

"We have several things we need to discuss, Tsuchikage-san. I advise that you think before you give any sort of response. My partner here is not one to be fooled by false bravery brought on by pride."

The hunched man chuckled again as he wrapped both of the intruders in thick green vines. Turning back, both figured glared at Rokko, inviting him to give one of his usual smart-aleck responses. None came, and so they began to speak.

---

Goroshi plunged his staff into the ground and climbed monkey-like to the top of it as his opponent sent another swirling spiral of wind flying towards him. Leaping off and falling to the ground in a crouch, the shinobi ran forward, staff clutched over his head before spinning it under the feet of the Akatsuki, who deftly leapt into the air and slashed in an X formation with his two boomerang. Goroshi easily blocked both hits with his own weapon and spun upwards again, catching his opponent under the armpit and flipping him over his shoulder. Turning, he saw that the man had executed a perfect barrell roll in the air and stood before him with a smile plastered on his thin face. He twirled his boomerang again and clicked a switch, letting blades extend from the black surface and starting up hidden motors. The weapons clicked and began to spin like a pair of hacksaws. Goroshi merely smiled and flipped over the man, letting go of his bo staff which stood stock upright and allowed a distraction. Landing behind the Akatsuki member, he let loose a blinding fast combo-kick, which sent the man flying into the air only to dissaparate in a gust of wind. Turning, the mysterious ninja was rewarded for his efforts with a boomerang slapping into his side, cracking several ribs and sending him flying over the side of the train. Noko turned to face what should have been the inert body of the Uzumaki brat. He was instead greeted by the young man standing to face him, his eyes blood red and his nails extending into claws. And then, as he turned fully, the dozen clones surrounding the boy.

"Hmph. this is hte time when I wish Hinode would just finish off whoever he's fighting already."

With a roar, the dozen Naruto's leapt forward into the air to attack and the Akatsuki brought his boomerang to bear on them, activating the buzzsaws yet again and smiling with anticipation.

---

"Come, Kakashi of the Sharingan! Has your age reduced your abilities so much?" Hinode threw himself at Kakashi again, bringing his blade down in a wide arc that sliced through the air into the latter's kunai, sparks flying as they clashed. Shikamaru made several quick hand-signs at the distraction but as he completed them, he felt his neck pulled back by the flat side of the huge blade.

"I think not shadow-walker." A water clone had risen up out of the water to grasp him in place and the original laughed as he launced a high kick at his opponent, who expertly blocked. "Kakashi, I am so dissapointed! I would think that one with such renown would be able to defeat me! I should hope your student is faring somewhat better against my partner!"

Kakashi's only response was to suck in air and let it loose with a cry of "Fire Release, Great Fireball!"

A huge ball of fire erupted from his lips, immediately filling the car with blazing light and melting the seats around it. The Akatsuki merely laughed again and let another burst of water fly from the mouth in his belly, sending clouds of steam flying into the air.

"You'll have to try harder than that Kakashi..."

His words were cut off however, as the aforementioned shinobi suddenly planted his fist into his opponents stomach and with a cry of "Chidori!" sent a huge crackle of lightning shooting through his body. The sharingan-user's water clone fell to the floor and burst apart as his pinwheel eye spun. The Akatsuki dropped his zanbato to the ground with a resounding clatter and his body collapsed as Kakashi stepped back and Shikamaru stepped over the puddle of water that had been a water clone of their opponent. The latter sighed with a mumble of his trademark phrase and turned to find an elderly man smiling up at both of them, his body hunched with age and his wrinkled hands clasped together.

"What a wonderful show of techniques! I am supremely impressed with you...ah," the man glanced about for their forehead protectors and spied Kakashi's as he slipped it back over his left eye, "Konoha ninja!"

Shikamaru glared askance as the sudden interupption and queried, "You are, who, exactly?"

"This is the man we have been asked to protect, Shikamaru."

"And you'll need all the help you can get!" the enemies zanbato suddenly came slicing down between them, directly at the elderly man, only to clatter against his forearms that he brought up to block. The elderly man flicked his large ears and sniffed the air before smiling.

"Akatsuki eh? You lot have been hounding me for far too long!" Suddenly the man's old eyes blazed with fire and he stepped back to launch a gout of flame from his mouth. Hinode dissapated into water in order to dodge the attack and came up behind the man, clamping one hand over his mouth and pressing into the base of his neck, knocking him unconcious. Picking up the crumpled form in his arms, he stepped back through the door of the train and called, over the clatter of the wheels,

"You can either save your friend up on the roof or save this old man. Either way, you will lose one of them."

The door slammed in the face of Kakashi and Shikamaru as their target leapt away into the next car. The pair of shinobi looked at each other and Kakashi said with finality, "Naruto can hold his own against whoever he might be fighting above us, at least for a little while. We will go after this man, who is obviously the stronger of the two.

Shikamaru glanced through the door, and then above towards Naruto, "Someone is already up helping Naruto. However, we must find out how we will defeat this man we are following first. He is obviously very powerful."

"We don't need to defeat him, merely stop him from capturing the jinchuriki and taking him back to Akatsuki. We need to keep him aboard the train."

"Fine. Let's go." muttered Shikamaru

The pair leapt through the door into the next compartment which was, regretfully empty. They still stepped inside carefully though, and strode forward. They saw nothing, as was the pattern for the next four cars. Finally, as they passed the bathroom, they realized that they had reached the end of the train.

"He must have gone up ahead on the roof..." Shikamaru began, but even as he began to consider the over 200 possibilities of what to do next, a hand shot up from the bowl of the toilet, grabbing the middle of his shirt and throwing him to the ground. Their opponent rose out of the water and stepped out into the car, dispelling the jutsu that had made it appear that his captive was merely a brown bag stowed above them.

"You should have left when you had the chance, Akatsuki. Shadow Bind Jutsu!"

Their assailant merely laughed, even as he was captured. "What will you do now? You cannot destroy me, no matter what you try!"

"Shadow Neck Bind!" Ghostly shadow hands began to creep up the man's body and grab onto his thick neck. He gasped and began to struggle, forcing Shikamaru to exert even more strength attempting to avoid asphyxiation. Kakashi, meanwhile, strode forward and threw the elderly man's form over his shoulder and strode towards the door of the car. According to the electronic map mounted to the wall, there was only 15 minutes remaining until they reached their next station. His good mood, however, disappeared as their opponent strode through the door and laughed. His water clone dissolved to the ground and he strode forward, pointing the tip of his zanbato right at Shikamaru's throat.

"I look forward to eating you, shadowwalker. I like to think you'll taste something like venison."

The man laughed again and Kakashi let the elderly man softly into the seat next to them as their opponent charged forward, lunging at Shikamaru.

---

Noko spun on the balls of his right foot and let his boomerang come sliding off his fingertips, spinning through the air and cutting through the shadow clones his opponent had summoned. The original growled in rage and threw himself at his unarmed opponent, fist extended. The missing-nin laughed and caught the fist in the palm of his hand, twirling Naruto over his head and throwing him to the ground. The boy hit the metal with a resounding crack, and rose to flip away, circling around his opponent who caught his boomerang as they spun back into his hands. However, even as he let go of his opponent and smirked, there was the bo staff he had neglected to kick off the train, flipping through the air to crack him on the head and send him to the ground alongside the boy. He glanced up to see the white and black ninja, smiling a wide smile and twilring his bo staff lazily in the air. Noko rose on steady legs, strapping one of his boomerang into it's slot on his back before speaking.

"I don't know who you are or why you are so interested in this boy but, until I hear different, he's mine. I'm the one who'll get him."

The man laughed before glancing down at Naruto, "I have no interest in 'getting' this boy. I merely want to fight him." With these words he plucked the young man up in his left hand as he gripped the staff with his right. "I only want to fight him, and for that I need him fully conscious. If he defeats me than he'll be free to go about his business. But if I win, I'll have to kill him. That's my job."

"Well my job is to leave him incapacitated. If I let you have him will you do that?"

"I can't promise that. I can promise that it would be a waste of time for us to fight."

Noko was about to argue, but he felt the familiar burning sensation on his left leg as the bond activated. Hinode was calling him back to the other half of their mission. He most likely was in no immediate danger but he might as well find him.

"Fine. Take the boy." Noko grumbled as he disappeared in a burst of wind. Goroshi merely smiled and looked back down at the once again unconscious Naruto. He then grabbed his body and slipped down into the train compartment to wait for the next stop. The boy mumbled something in his sleep and Goroshi smiled. This would be more of a fun assignment than he thought. And he might get a chance to check in while this boy recuperated--no point in fighting an injured man.

---

Kakashi blocked another slash from his opponents zanbato as Shikamaru attempted to blast apart the half dozen water clones the man had summoned to fight him. The old man did not stir, gave no notice of them and when the man's partner came through the door, slicing apart the frame with two oversized black boomerang, Kakashi knew when to call it quits.

"Shikamaru go!" The shadow-nin threw his twin trench knives at his opponents shadows, catching the new arrival and throwing the other off balance. Kakashi grabbed the old man by his collar and hauled him into the next compartment just as the train came into it's stop. Kakashi saw that the platform was crammed with people and therefore motioned to Shikamaru before performing a quick henge and leaping off the train, the old man thrown over his shoulder. No pair of Akatsuki would want to kill enough people to find him in such a crowd, though he couldn't be too sure. Therefore, as he stepped off, he threw down a flash bomb and escaped into the light that erupted from it as people screamed and scattered. Shikamaru followed closely behind, saying nothing even as he followed and scanned the crowd for either their adversaries or that Naruto who had not come with them. He soon found the latter passed out on a bench on the platform, a note attacked to him with a needle.

_Take this young man to the hospital_

_When he recuperates, I will come back to the village with him_

_If that pair of idiots follows you, I'll be sure to distract as long as I can_

_Good luck saving that old man--he's quite sick in case it hasn't become apparent_

_-Goroshi-_

Shikamaru sighed again and hefted the blonde haired shinobi over his shoulders as Kakashi motioned towards one of the many exits. They would have to head back to Konoha on foot. Looks like his idea of a vacation had been cut back once again. Damn Tsunade, assigning him stupid protection and scouting missions.


	9. The Travels and The Trials Continue

_AN: Hey again everybody! Again, apologies for the lateness, I had a very busy summer and a very busy beginning of the year, but here it is, Chapter 9, enjoy!_

Shikamaru sighed for what must have been the hundredth time that day. Not only was he now stuck traveling across the Fire Country to Konoha, limited to his ambulatory modes of transportation, but he also had to transport two sick individuals. That not only made the mission slow, but much more complicated in terms of both maneuvering and dealing with enemies. If one of the sickly ninja's situations began to worsen, they would have to make efforts to care for him. That would most likely involve them halting their progress and that would provide a perfect opportunity for an attack. If the group was cut apart, chances were something would destroy both, as what would normally be two shinobi would be one and dead weight. If enemies fell upon them, they could not pursue, if it was ever prudent, and enemies would most likely capture one of the sick shinobi and initiate some form of trade. In the end, the whole mess would prove to be a troublesome situation and probably end up with at least one death. Even after years of losing comrades, near losses, and situations that taxed his psyche to the limit, he still did not deal well with death, especially when he truly had the power to prevent it. A fact that would prove near crippling when the mission came to a head.

The cold, late winter air cut less across their skin than it would in other countries but it still bit them enough to force them to bundle themselves and their unconscious comrades thicker than usual. It also cut conversation between the two quiet ninja to next to nothing. However, Kakashi brought up a conversation that illuminated some things Shikamaru had been considering himself since their battle.

"Apparently Akatsuki is just as active as ever." Was the silver-haired ninjas way to begin the conversation, and the wish to seek another genius's insight was painfully obvious.

"Hmm, apparently. These two I hadn't seen in person before, but they're both obviously quite powerful and quite different from most Shinobi one sees."

"Yes, I noticed that as well. And the taller of the two bore a striking similarity to our old enemy, Hoshiagaki Kisame."

"Very true, Kakashi. But at the same time, his abilities were quite a bit more troublesome."

"Yes, they were. At least we can know he won't be catching us off guard around this area."

Shikamaru knew exactly what Kakashi meant-- if the man was able to dilute himself into a watery form for surprise purposes, that water would freeze in the cold weather if natural and prevent him from hiding too easily.

"The other one has me worried though. We have no idea what his abilities are, and Naruto can't tell us anything about them right now."

"Very true, but we do know that he won't be another shinobi from Kiriagakure."

"How can you know that, Kakashi? Probably two of them would work better together than many other teams their leader could design."

"Perhaps that is true, but that would create needless competition. Their leader apparently wishes to use different Ninja from as many different villages as possible. If they are from the same village, since both are missing-nin they may have immediate competition or have been on opposite sides of a civil war at any point in their lives. Even a slash through your hita-itae does not eliminate those kinds of deep-rooted enmities."

Shikamaru could immediately see where Kakashi was coming from. Two shinobi from Konoha, where teachers admonished, if not demanded, camaraderie, could work well with each other no matter how powerful or different. However, other countries, especially some as bloody as Kiriagakure might consider it more prudent to act alone and to depend on no one. Therefore, two shinobi from such a village would be at immediate odds. In addition, slightly different shinobi would provide different types of fighting styles that would not only cover all of their bases but also could work well in conjunction. These facts made it painfully clear that they would not be dealing with two ninja of similar archetype or even personality and that until they could learn more about this man's partner, they could do little to prepare themselves for him. As he eyed the shifting branches of the trees, patterned lightly with white snow and glistening in the sunlight, he realized that this man could have any powers from taijutsu to long-range attacks like those of Gaara. He could have control of the plants, or he could be a puppeteer, or even some sort of power he had never seen before--after all he had only heard rumors of shinobi able to reduce themselves to a liquid form at will and he had just seen proof that they did exist.

"Kakashi, do you have any theories on what type of shinobi this man might be?"

The older shinobi chuckled softly before responding, "I've actually given it quite a bit of thought Shikamaru. And I like to believe that he is the slightly known shinobi, Henkan Noko. The Bingo book doesn't mention him too extensively, so I wouldn't expect you to recognize the name, but he is a rather well known ninja. He comes from Sunagakure and left right around the time Gaara became Kazekage. That information is where my assumptions come from, and I know something of his abilities. You saw the two oversized boomerang he was carrying?"

Shikamaru nodded, and realization suddenly crossed his face.

"Like Temari's fan, he most likely uses them as an instrument to amplify wind based attacks. And therefore he will be nearly immune to long range attacks and adept at wielding them alongside short range attacks."

"Exactly. Now the only things we don't know are how heavily modified those boomerang are, but we can safely assume that he has reinforced them for protection and probably increased his abilities to use them as defensive weapons."

Shikamaru nodded as he calmed down his mind; he should have guessed that being with an older, much more experienced ninja they would have more information to draw on than most. He could only hope that the information would be able to help them stay alive.

---

Rokko closed his eyes trying to trick himself into believing that the two Akatsuki didn't exist. However, as soon as he let his eyelids creep back open he saw them both strolling around his (new) bedchambers, throwing papers about and smashing holes open in the walls. They were trying to find whatever secret information his father had apparently kept hidden in here, and he was amazed that they both could keep their activities so seemingly quiet--none of his numerous posted guards had shown up even to check on him. Both the pair was intimidating to say the least, but Rokko was more scared by the smaller of the pair, whose grayish-green hair spiked up from behind a mottled, zombie-like death mask. A perpetual grin lay on that mask, but it was not one of happiness or relaxation, moreso the grin of a lunatic, of one who would kill at the drop of a hat.

His partner, towering over the hunched, spiky haired Akatsuki, wore a skin-tight dark grey hat that he had pulled down to cover whatever hair he might have and his forehead. Below his pale skin and stormy grey eyes, he wore a black scarf wrapped underneath his high-collared cloak. At his waist, Rokko could see the bulging forms of scrolls, though what they could be for he dared not guess. Overall, the pair seemed to be far scarier than any story of the Akatsuki had prepared him for, and he decided that their (thusfar) fruitless search would have to come to an end.

"Excuse me, but I don't think you'll find anything. And as the new Tsuichkage, I'll have to ask you…"

The smaller Akatsuki was across the room and slapping Rokko to the ground before his partner could even give a short, breathy laugh.

"Ah…Silence yourself Tsuichkage," the sarcastic tone he delivered the final word with bit Rokko harder than the attack had, "or I'll merely kill you."

"You can't kill me! The guards will destroy you before you can even draw a weapon!"

"Ahh…but I don't need any weapon. All the weapons I need," with this he tapped Rokko in the middle of his forhead, "are right here."

Rokko crawled away on the floor, staring wide eyed at this hunched figure who was so terrifying him.

"Oh come on Ojiki, stop hurting the boy. Can't you tell he's about ready to piss his pants?"

"Yes…I think that you had better (ahem) listen to your partner…" Rokko desperately tried to halt the waver in his voice, but couldn't for too long.

"Oh come on Gako, I need to help him. This boy needs to learn," the man's masked head began to turn, unnaturally continuing until it was nearly 180 degrees from where it started, "to control his, ahhh, fear."

Rokko began to scream as the man muttered under his breath, catching only the words, "Behold the power of the Misu Osoke..ah…"

---

Shino rubbed his bleary eyes with his free hand as he scooped water into his mouth with the other. Rokka had managed to find a stream, but Kurohari and Yukai had left promptly enough after they settled, leaving him to take care of provisions. As much as he assumed she was a bitter, self-deprecating young woman, Shino didn't want to disturb his partner as she grieved. He didn't think that she particularly missed her father, but he knew she liked her brother even less. He also knew that, despite her best efforts to hide it, she saw herself returning to her village one day, the real world prodigal son, or daughter as the case may be. But now, that seemed near impossible, considering what would happen within the next few days of the Hidden Village of Rocks sudden shift in the balance of power. Rokko would rule, most likely with an iron fist, as he did his best to sort out the diplomatic issues that arose. There would be an inquiry into how his father had died, and then there would be the question of what to do about his personal records and body. In the end, Shino was glad they had escaped the powder keg when they had, and hopefully they had a mission soon enough to take Rokka's mind off of the whole situation. As he strolled back into their makeshift stone-home, he realized she had something else in mind to do just that.

His partner lay sprawled across her sleeping mat, naked as the day she was born despite the cold temperature, and as he walked in, motioned him forward with a seductive gesture.

"Rokka, I…I, I don't think that this is particularly appropriate."

She smiled up at him as he did his best to look away. Even for someone as stoic as he, however, she was voluptuous and seducing.

"Come on Shino, I know that you want this. Forget about that Hyuuga girl, she wasn't strong enough for you anyway."

Shino swallowed, trying to wet his suddenly dry mouth, as he considered what to do. She continued to gaze up at him with her pale blue eyes. He sat down on the ground, bending his knees in a mediatory position as she cooed.

"Please Shino, I've wanted this for so long. She'll never be yours."

Shino did his best to keep a single tear from sliding down behind his glasses. Even a lifetime of emotionless living didn't prepare him for this. He slowly lay down next to her on the mat, flinching as she drew her arms around him and pulled him close against her surprisingly warm, full body.

"Hmmm…see? Isn't this nice? Aren't you glad?"

"Rokka…I truly cannot do this. It is more than inappropriate, it is dangerous to our business relationship."

Rokka sighed long and hard, staring at him, as if lost in her own world before speaking, "Men are always the same. Men are always the same."

---

_Rokka is 14 years old, just becoming a young woman as her hormones raced through her and caused her body and mind to change drastically. One day, she strode confidently into father's office as he sat at his desk._

_"Daddy?"_

_Her father smiled as he glanced up from his work, "Yes, my little angel?"_

_"Will I ever be the head of the ANBU? Kuno-sensei says that she knows him and that he is a very powerful shinobi."_

_"Well…ahem," her father cleared his throat, "are you working hard in school? How prepared are you for the Chuunin exam?"_

_"Oh, Kuno-sensei said that I should pass with flying colors. She wished they had let her recommend me last year."_

_"Hm…well we will see down the line won't we my angel? Why don't you go for a walk OK? And tell your brother dinner is soon._

_"Ok Daddy!" called Rokka as she raced out of the room, missing her father's frowning face._

_---_

_Rokka is 19 years old, the day that her father became the Tsuichkage, and she couldn't be more proud. Now that he had inherited the position from his father, she was the most obvious choice. Her brother only fooled around in school, and she knew that she was better prepared than he, as the newest Jounin in the village. When they went home that night, she decided to bring it up over dinner._

_Her brother laughed and glared at her, "Girls can't become kages! What do you think this is?"_

_"Well, sure they can you idiot!" she called over to him, her face glowing red, "Right Daddy?"_

_Her father frowned again, and pulled off his new hat to set it on the table, "Actually…dear, girls cannot become the Kage in our village. No woman ever has."_

_"What? Well that's dumb! I can at least be your second in command right? I mean, I'm the better child aren't I!?"_

_Her father frowned again and looked at her for a long moment, "No, dear, I'm sorry, but your brother is to be my second in command. Don't you understand? Why don't you become a teacher like Kuno-sensei?"_

_Rokka did not even dignify him with a response as she stormed from the table, collected some things and left the village,, for what she thought would be forever. And still, her brothers voice rang in her ears, "Girls can't become kages!" _

_His laugh would haunt her forever._

---

Shino glanced at Rokka, her naked body calling to every physical aspect of his body even as his mind screamed against it. He noticed the tear sliding down her face, and then, all of the sudden, she was on-top of him, ripping away at his cloak and planting violent kisses on his face, grasping at him like a madwoman. He barely held onto his glasses, and then suddenly, felt himself kissing her back wildly, all his pent up desire suddenly unleashed. His final thought, as they both finished later in the evening, was that it would surely be an interesting morning.


	10. OC Character Sheet

Character Sheet

"Detatoku Shobu" Chapters 1-9

_AN: Characters are only OC characters in order of appearance, at least those that are important at the moment--that means characters that are mentioned won't be added till they've actually done something in the story--cuts down on some of the confusion IMO._

_As a basis, this story takes place just around 6 years after the start of Part 2, and you can assume that my branch-off from the Canon begins right where Part 2 starts; having read the manga far enough, I do know some things that will happen and choose to include them but they will not be obvious for those of you that are worried about spoilers. Thanks and Enjoy!_

**Name:** Naomi Rokka

**Age: **21

**Gender: **Female

**Former Affiliation: **Iwagakure, Hidden Village of Stone

**Rank: **Akatsuki Elite

**Status:** Alive, location unknown

**Living Relation(s): **Naomi Rokko, brother (Tsuichkage)

**Partner(s): **Aburame Shino

**Greatest Ambition: **To attain a powerful position

**Likes: **Going out to bars to pick up boys, flirting with men, boys in general, convincing herself of her own self worth

**First Appearance:** Chapter 1

**Bio: **The daughter of the (now deceased) Tsuichkage, Rokka lived her childhood life attempting to become more powerful and dreaming of being the Kage of the village--or at least ANBU commander. However, when her father became Tsuichkage after the death of her grandfather, her brother pointed out to her that girls couldn't become Kage's in Iwagakure. She left the village after this unfortunate confrontation, and joined Akatsuki shortly after. She was partnered with Aburame Shino and quickly developed a crush on him. Upon learning that he was still infatuated with Hyuuga Hinata, she quickly added the young girl to her hit-list--directly following her brother Rokko.

**Name:** Muri Kurohari

**Age (current): **25

**Gender: **Male

**Former Affiliation: **Konohagakure (Hidden Village of Leaves)

**Rank: **Akatsuki Elite

**Status:** Alive, Location Unknown

**Living Relation(s): **Unknown

**Partner(s): **Sumiko Yukai

**Greatest Ambition: **Don't get killed

**Likes: **Drinking, smoking cigarettes, women, drinking

**First Appearance:** Chapter 2

**Bio: **Kurohari showed up at one of Akatsuki's numerous hidden bases 3 years previous with Yukai attached to his hip and demanded that they he and Yukai be placed on a team together and the Leader obliged after sending them to a local brothel to murder 5 heavily guarded political leaders, to great success. Kurohari is a lazy hippie, constantly saying things like "Downer" and complaining about some faceless "Man" (possibly the Akatsuki Leader.) He is considered an under-working, over-sexed, drug addicted bum by most. He is also rather perverted but when someone mentions him and Yukai ever going out (of course in many years) he becomes very blanched and immediately smokes up a frenzy. Often invited out as a drinking partner since he always knows how to have a good time, Kurohari is nonetheless a capable user of Katon techniques and an (obviously unnatural) Suiken Taijustsu user.

**Name:** Sumiko Yukai

**Age (current): **8

**Gender: **Female

**Former Affiliation: **Unknown

**Rank: **Akatsuki Elite

**Status:** Alive, Location Unknown

**Living Relation(s): **Unknown

**Partner(s): **Muri Kurohari

**Greatest Ambition: **Annoy Kurohari

**Likes: **Sunshine, flowers, furry critters, her hair, Kurohari, manipulating people

**First Appearance:** Chapter 2

**Bio: **Little is known about Yukai, aside from the fact that she arrived at the Akatsuki base with Kurohari at age 5, clinging to his leg and declaring upon first meeting that the Leader "smelled funny, but not clown funny." She, however, proved to him somehow that she deserves the cloak and has been in the organization ever since defeating a former member of the elite in under 30 seconds.

**Name:** Masuro Kujin

**Age (current): **24

**Gender: **Male

**Affiliation: **Konohagakure (Hidden Village of Leaf)Organization X

**Rank: **Jounin

**Status:** Alive, location unknown

**Living Relation(s): **Unknown

**Partner(s): **Kenji Rasho, Dokuro, Goroshi, Hitura, Iroku, the rest of Organization X

**Greatest Ambition: **Escape the constraints of time, gain fame through honor

**Likes:** Training, sparring, manners, honor, hard-work, sushi

**First Appearance:** Chapter 2

**Bio: **This Jounin of the Leaf Village is a hard working man, renowned for his skill with numerous swords along with other differing weaponry. He has been best friends with Rasho for most of his adult life, and they are nearly never apart. A dignified young man, Kujin holds honor and manners above everything else, and while he may not get along with them all the time, holds his family and friends sacred. He is also a member of the mysterious, unnamed Organization X

**Name:** Kenji Rasho

**Age (current): **24

**Gender: **Male

**Affiliation: **Konohagakure (Hidden Village of Leaf), Organization X

**Rank: **Jounin

**Status:** Alive, location unknown

**Living Relation(s): **Unknown

**Partner(s): **Masuro Kujin, Dokuro, Goroshi, Hitura, Iroku, the rest of Organization X

**Greatest Ambition: **To become as famous a pervert as Jiraiya, though never as elderly or eremitic

**Likes: **Woman, sparring, his friends and family, reading and writing, developing new jutsu

**First Appearance: **Chapter 2

**Bio: **This Jounin, a self-proclaimed defensive shinobi, is a powerful addition to any team, though he works best in conjunction with anyone of the mysterious Organization X and especially his long-time friend Masuro Kujin. Though he often pokes fun at his friend's mannerisms and is considered a womanizer by many, this shinobi has a deeply reflective side and has a more sensitive side he rarely lets woman see--though he is at heart a pervert, he is one with more to him than most would like to give him credit for.

**Name:** Suji

**Age (current): **19

**Gender: **Male

**Affiliation: **Otogakure (Hidden Village of Sound), Sound Four

**Rank: **Jounin

**Status:** (Presumed) Alive, within Otogakure

**Living Relation(s): **Unknown

**Partner(s): **Ruko, Buke, Osara

**Greatest Ambition: **To master puppetry and surpass the former Grand Master, Sasori

**Likes: **Puppetry, feisty women, killing his opponents, breaking people mentally and then physically

**First Appearance:** Chapter 3

**Bio: **This young man is none too hard to figure out when you figure him out--an egomaniac; he is concerned only with himself and what he wants. Only alongside Orochimaru to discover what he can about the man's former Akatsuki partner, Sasori, Suji nevertheless gains quite a bit from their relationship in the seemingly endless supply of bodies for his usage. Although they escaped, he was the only one of the Four to capture one of their targets, and although Orochimaru does not particularly like him, it can be assumed he will be "rewarded" somehow, though oftentimes rewards from the snake master are not as nice as one would hope.

**Name:** Ruko

**Age (current): **18

**Gender: **Male

**Affiliation: **Otogakure (Hidden Village of Sound), The Sound Four

**Rank: **ANBU/Jounin

**Status:** (Presumed) Alive, within Otogakure

**Living Relation(s): **Unknown

**Partner(s): **Suji, Buke, Osara

**Greatest Ambition: **To master the realm of the Shinigami and to attain their full powers while holding onto his human life

**Likes: **Shinigami, death, Serving Orochimaru, sword training, meditation, strong coffee

**First Appearance:** Chapter 3

**Bio: **An enigmatic young man to say the least, Ruko is the head of the ANBU squadrons in Otogakure only for his supremely stealthy, untraceable killing abilities, but has a tendency to get confused for yet another young, male "future soul vessel" for Orochimaru. Although he understands this aspect of his master's existence and respects him to the utmost levels, Ruko values his own life and his own control far too much to allow his master to take him over. Although he may seem vulnerable after his battle with Hyuuga Hinata, Ruko is in fact a more than capable fighter whose main weakness is his joy in toying with his enemies and his tendency to underestimate them.

**Name:** Buke

**Age (current): **Unknown

**Gender: **Male (?)

**Affiliation: **Otogakure (Hidden Village of Sound), The Sound Four

**Rank: **Jounin

**Status:** (Presumed) alive, within Otogakure

**Living Relation(s): **Unknown

**Partner(s): **Suji, Ruko, Osara

**Greatest Ambition: **Unknown

**Likes: **Unknown

**First Appearance:** Chapter 3

**Bio: **A truly shadowy figure, all that is known about Buke (even by his fellow Sound Four members) is that he enjoys any good fight, seems to be composed of nothing but his giant suit of armor, and possesses amazing strength.

**Name:** Osara

**Age (current): **19

**Gender: **Female

**Affiliation: **Otogakure (Hidden Village of Sound), The Sound Four

**Rank: **Jounin, Armory-Head

**Status:** (Assumed) Alive, within Otogakure

**Living Relation(s): **Unknown

**Partner(s): **Suji, Ruko, Buke

**Greatest Ambition: **Turn males into mere slaves, working only as shinobi to fight each other and to procreate until scientific cloning procedures can be completed.

**Likes: **Her Naginata, training with weapons, taking any men down a couple notches, dancing

**First Appearance:** Chapter 3

**Bio: **Osara is a feisty young lady, completely loyal to Orochimaru in that he gives her a home and a place to train to her hearts content. As the head of the Otoarmory (Sound Armory), she is in charge of weapons development and upkeep, and takes her job incredibly seriously. She is constantly trying to fend off advances by Suji without killing him, and stopping bickering between him and Ruko. Though she has never been caught in a situation, it is often rumored that she is involved with a young man from Kiriagakure (Hidden Village of Mist) that resides in Otogakure, but whether these rumors are true has yet to be found. She also possesses some super-healing abilities that allowed her to survive mortal wounds at the hand of Kujin, as well as an eninimity against all men she thinks underestimate women.

**Name:** Dokuro "The Skull"

**Age (current): **24

**Gender: **Male

**Affiliation: **Organization X

**Rank: **None

**Status:** Alive, Location Unknown

**Living Relation(s): **Unknown, assumed none

**Partner(s): **Masuro Kujin, Kenji Rasho, Goroshi, Hitura, Iroku, the rest of Organization X

**Greatest Ambition: **To survive

**Likes: **Killing, training, sparring, meditating, experienced women

**First Appearance:** Chapter 5

**Bio: **A curious figure, this man seems to have no loyalty even to his friends, although he will take on any mission for a price. He claims to have never failed in a bounty hunting mission, attested to by the huge number of enemy skulls he has stored in numerous lock boxes scattered across the country. He often wears a metallic death-heads helmet when he goes to makes kills, but has also impersonated ninja from any number of villages or organizations in order to put off suspicion or gain access to anywhere. A master of both taijutsu, ninjutsu and several sensory masking genjutsu, Dokuro's main weaknesses are his own overconfidence and his own image of invincibility.

**Name:** Naomi Rokko

**Age (current): **21

**Gender: **Male

**Affiliation: **Iwagakure

**Rank: **Tsuichkage

**Status:** (Assumed) Alive, currently in clutches of Akatsuki within Iwagakure

**Living Relation(s): **Naomi Rokka (Sister)

**Partner(s): **None

**Greatest Ambition: **To hold onto his powers as Kage, to beat his sister at everything in her life

**Likes: **Power, torturing his sister, beating out the weaker people below him, exerting his control

**First Appearance:** Chapter 6

**Bio: **A power-hungry young man who enjoys torturing his sister and has no qualms with telling every woman to get back in the kitchen to make him a sandwich, his wishes came true when he became Tsuichkage. However, the quick arrival of more deadly Akatsuki seems to have tempered his views quite a bit, and it is obvious that if he remains in power too much longer it will be as a puppet.

**Name:** Naomi Chisuki

**Age (current): **53 (DECEASED)

**Gender: **Male

**Former Affiliation: **Iwagakure

**Rank: **(Former) Tsuichkage

**Status:** DECEASED

**Living Relation(s): **Naomi Rokka (Daughter), Naomi Rokko (Son)

**Partner(s): **None

**Greatest Ambition: **To reconcile his son and daughter

**Likes: **His village, his family, the protection of stability in the ninja world, money

**First Appearance:** Chapter 6

**Bio: **A pacifistic man, Chisuki usually listened to his large stomach and his materialistic mind before anything else, but he never attempted to start any wars. His recent death was surrounded by death as he directed Kujin to Monomari the "Lady in the Swamp" to obtain the 7-tails Biju, starting a race involving Konoha, Organization X (which Chisuki has some connection to) and of course, Akatsuki.

**Name: **Goroshi

**Age (current): **29

**Gender: **Male

**Affiliation: **Organization X

**Rank: **None

**Status:** (Assumed) Alive, Location Unknown

**Living Relation(s): **Unknown

**Partner(s): **Masuro Kujin, Kenji Rasho Dokuro, Hitura, Iroku, the rest of Organization X

**Greatest Ambition: **To complete every hunting mission he is given

**Likes: **The Hunt, his Bo-staff, confusing people, painting his body

**First Appearance:** Chapter 6

**Bio: **An eccentric man, Goroshi is famed across the Ninja World as a bounty hunter that never fails. Whether high placed Daimyo, simple rice-paddy worker, or (as he says) even a kage himself, Goroshi has not failed to bring back the body of anyone he has been sent to hunt and has made a living on it. It is unknown where he learned the ninja art, but his skill with a Bo staff and his rugged personality seem to point towards one of many secret monastic sects scattered in the snowy mountains of the world. Currently on hunt to fight Uzumaki Naruto, it is unknown what Goroshi will do to him, just that the kill is not enough and that Goroshi must be the one to do it if that is his mission. He has also shown himself as a equal match with the Akatsuki elite.

**Name: **Henkan Noko

**Age (current): **26

**Gender: **Male

**Former Affiliation: **Sunagakure

**Rank: **Akatsuki Elite

**Status:** Alive, location unknown

**Living Relation(s): **Unknown

**Partner(s): **Riyuki Hinode

**Greatest Ambition: **To destroy/capture the Biju, specifically the Shukaku

**Likes: **Boomerangs, training/sparring, long walks in the hot sands of Suna

**First Appearance:** Chapter 6

**Bio: **A relatively new Akatsuki, Noko is nonetheless a well known ninja of Suna who survived through the war with Konoha, and lived to see Gaara assume the mantle of Kazekage before leaving. As a friend of Yashamaru, Noko has always held it against the jinchuriki for killing his best friend and therefore holds a grudge against all of them, as well as having a certainly anti-family feel about him. Considered one of the more jovial Akatsuki, his is often told to "Shut the hell up" once he gets started, particularly by his partner. Despite this, the two very different nin spend quite a bit of time together off the job and enjoy playing strategy games like Shouji against one another.

**Name:** Riyuki Hinode

**Age (current): **Unknown

**Gender: **Male (?)

**Former Affiliation: **Kiriagakure (Hidden Village of the Mist), Seven Swordsman of the Mist

**Rank: **Akatsuki Elite

**Status:** Alive, location unknown

**Living Relation(s): **Unknown

**Partner(s): **Henkan Noko

**Greatest Ambition: **Suck the marrow from the bones of Hatake Kakashi, capture and control Kiriagakure as the kage there

**Likes: **Sushi, the taste of human flesh, human conflict, his zanbatou, surprising his opponents, meditating

**First Appearance:** Chapter 6

**Bio: **A seemingly immortal Akatsuki, Hinode fulfills the role as the ever-needed Akatsuki who carries a huge sword, plain and simple. However, his skills seem to outweigh those of Hoshiakage Kisame in that he resembles more a starfish, what with his regenerating abilities. Rumored to have no central heart or brain to allow for quick deaths, Hinode ended up on the wrong side of an attempted revolution in Kiriagakure and has never lost his dream of returning there. He does not get along with much of Akatsuki, particularly Ojiki, but he is still considered a good man to drink with, even if it is strange to watch him stick a finger in a tall drink and watch it disappear while his bandaged, appearance less face looks back at you only in the mirror.

**Name: ** Hitura

**Age (current): **24

**Gender: **Male

**Affiliation: **Amegakure (Hidden Village of Rain), Organization X

**Rank: **Jounin

**Status:** (Assumed) Alive, within Iwagakure under Akatsuki clutches

**Living Relation(s): **Unknown

**Partner(s): **Masuro Kujin, Kenji Rasho, Dokuro, Goroshi, Ikura, the rest of Organization X

**Greatest Ambition: **Pick up as many girls from as many villages as he can, especially kuonichi

**Likes: **Women, his whip, sparring, sports

**First Appearance:** Chapter 7

**Bio: **A short, fun loving ninja, Hitura is always out for the party and for the girls. He is, however, a skilled shinobi and knows when he has to crack down (though he rarely wants to.) He has some allegiance to both Amegakure and Organization X, but his recent foray into Iwagakure involved some questionable activity and an attack by Akatsuki.

**Name:** Iroku

**Age (current): **31

**Gender: **Male

**Affiliation: **Amegakure (Hidden Village of Rain) Organization X

**Rank: **Jounin, (former) ANBU

**Status:** (Assumed) Alive, within Iwagakure under Akatsuki clutches

**Living Relation(s): **Unknown

**Partner(s): **Masuro Kujin, Kenji Rasho, Dokuro, Hitura, Goroshi, the rest of Organization X

**Greatest Ambition: **To destroy Akastuki and eliminate evil from the world

**Likes: **Meditating, working on his taijutsu, battles, leading other people

**First Appearance:** Chapter 7

**Bio: **A hulking giant of a man, this black ninja is particularly deadly for his fearsome brute strength combined with a cunning intelligence. He has some allegiance to both Amegakure and Organization X, but his recent foray into Iwagakure involved some questionable activity and an attack by Akatsuki.

**Name:** Sansuu Gako

**Age (current): **27

**Gender: **Male

**Former Affiliation: **Amegakure, in reality Kiriagakure

**Rank: **Akatsuki Elite

**Status:** Alive, within Iwagakure

**Living Relation(s): **None

**Partner(s): **Kiko Ojiki

**Greatest Ambition: **To destroy Amegakure and everyone in it for killing his father and forcing his mother to conceal this secret

**Likes: **His sword, Kusari Yen Swords, weapons in general, mathematics, skillfully outwitting his opponents, intelligence

**First Appearance:** Chapter 6

**Bio: **A nearly 7 foot tall shinobi, this man was burned in a childhood accident leaving him with no hair and a severely burned lower face (causing him to wear a hat and scarf to hide it, leaving only his eyes revealed.) He is an especially skilled tactician with amazingly fast mathematical and analytical skills perhaps surpassing those of Shikamaru. He despises Amegakure because, as he discovered after becoming a Chuunin within the village, they had actually killed his father when they had tried to enter the village legitimately after leaving the war-torn Kiriagakure. His huge sword, Kusari Yen, was his fathers and has his tattered headband on it, making it his prized possession. He enjoys strategy games and especially playing Shouji/sparring with his partner (with whom he is close friends surprisingly enough.)

**Name:** Kiko Ojiki

**Age (current): **Unknown

**Gender: **Male (?)

**Former Affiliation: **Kusagakure (Hidden Village of Grass)

**Rank: **Akatsuki Elite

**Status:** Alive, within Iwagakure

**Living Relation(s): **Unknown

**Partner(s): **Sansuu Gako

**Greatest Ambition: **To completely understand and control fear

**Likes: **Causing fear, sparring with his partner, meditating, his mask Misu Osoke

**First Appearance:** Chapter 6

**Bio: **One of the more dangerous Akatsuki, Ojiki is obsessed with his neurotic exploration of fear, and the fact that it controls everyone in the world if used correctly. He is said to have found his mask after failing the Chuunin exam, and has pointed out that if it ever comes off, he will die. Whether this is true or not has yet to be seen, but the mask seems to have something to do with controlling people's fears (as seen with Naomi Rokko) and this fits Ojiki's personality perfectly, making him a fierce shinobi when put alongside his plant-style jutsu.


End file.
